tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36447175164261018932017-09-26T17:13:44.280-04:00olive bites studio home of cat ivins and the polarity locketastrology forecasts and business advice for creativesCatherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.comBlogger1437125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-27080134973609122172017-09-26T08:57:00.000-04:002017-09-26T09:01:47.762-04:00Mars in Virgo Trine Pallas in Taurus | patterns of behavior, strategy, working the process, perseverance, creativity<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GmdL5xwOSj8/WcpMKNiYaZI/AAAAAAAAOiQ/g78gYPNDkqw6TqI71vJulj8Qz7AE9-iJgCLcBGAs/s1600/1f343e72bec02d7760424b0a37cd1f1d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="497" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GmdL5xwOSj8/WcpMKNiYaZI/AAAAAAAAOiQ/g78gYPNDkqw6TqI71vJulj8Qz7AE9-iJgCLcBGAs/s640/1f343e72bec02d7760424b0a37cd1f1d.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://muszka.deviantart.com/art/time-time-time-85094395">time time time by muszka</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />First check the forecast <a href="http://olivebites.blogspot.com/2017/09/astrology-forecast-for-creatives-week_24.html">HERE</a> for this week's major energy patterns.<br /><br />The Moon is still in "big-picture" Sagittarius today and making some tense aspects including a hook-up with serious Saturn. Although our mood could be a bit flattened, the combination of Saturn's feet on the ground/strong foundation and Jupiter's (<i>Sagittarius ruler</i>) head in the clouds/build it BIG isn't necessarily a bad thing, right?<br /><br />It sounds like a recipe for <strike>success</strike>, long term success, which is a perfect fit with today's perfecting aspect -<br /><br />Mars (<i>in Virgo at 13 degrees</i>) trines (<i>brakes off</i>) Pallas (<i>in Taurus at 13 degrees</i>).<br /><br /><b>Mars rules <i>action</i>, initiative, war and independence and Pallas rules creative intelligence, strategy, war and <i>patterns</i>.</b><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Practical action (<i>Mars in Virgo</i> - <i>take the next step, cross your t's, do what makes sense</i>) along with structured, creative problem solving and pattern recognition (<i>Pallas in Taurus - </i><i>establish a new pattern/schedule/plan that builds on what is already working but put your own creative spin on it</i>).&nbsp;</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">This moves whatever we are working on/dealing with forward more smoothly (<i>trine</i>).</span> <br /><br />With all of this earth (<i>Virgo/Taurus</i>), stuff is going to take time to germinate. This isn't the energy of something that is fast or explosive. This is slow growth that lasts.<br /><br />This starts with a plan. Something that builds on WHAT IS ALREADY WORKING. Then we do the day-to-day practical work the plan lays out. Create a pattern to be followed. Work the process. <b>Progress will be steady <i>and</i> noticeable.&nbsp;</b><br /><br />Perseverance is required.<br /><br />xo all <br /><br />Mini Astro Lesson - Taurus and Virgo are naturally trine each other. Rulers of our 2nd (<i>our resources, our values, our self-esteem</i>) and 6th houses (<i>work, health, day-to-day activities</i>) the themes of these houses naturally compliment each other, too. They work together so smoothly we might only notice them when they <i>aren't</i> working. We work (<i>6th house</i>) and make money (<i>2nd house</i>). We value ourselves (<i>2nd house</i>) and so we do the work needed to stay healthy (<i>6th house</i>). You get the picture. The other natural trine here (<i>earth signs</i>) is our 10th house (<i>Capricorn</i>) which rules career/public life, you can see how this house fits in here, too.<br /><br />There is natural law at work here. If you go to astro.com, free horoscopes, natal chart and enter your birth data - your chart will include a little graph at the bottom where you will see lots of little symbols including triangles. Those triangles are some of your super-powers. They are your planets and points that were in just the right houses and just the right degrees when you were born to provide you with your personal arsenal of "brakes off". Check them out. Google the attributes of the planets and houses involved. Make a word salad. Sit with <i>that </i>for a bit. Catherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-67493020357574805002017-09-24T21:38:00.001-04:002017-09-25T14:45:11.640-04:00Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of September 25th - painful truths, hard to find the right words, negative self talk, surprising news, big pushes forward, here we go!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PYhMsGOXhfY/Wchb3OmFwuI/AAAAAAAAOh8/Y9AG-yhl29IDQDJMKRUfR9Rm_-6MRTxBQCLcBGAs/s1600/0d8ef43ef8912f4e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="666" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PYhMsGOXhfY/Wchb3OmFwuI/AAAAAAAAOh8/Y9AG-yhl29IDQDJMKRUfR9Rm_-6MRTxBQCLcBGAs/s640/0d8ef43ef8912f4e.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://schude.deviantart.com/art/shine-even-in-the-darkness-79099657">shine even in the darkness by muszka</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />On <b>MONDAY,</b>&nbsp; Mercury (<i>in Virgo</i>) squares Saturn (<i>in Sagittarius</i>) -<br /><br /><i>then on Wednesday, he/she opposes Chiron (in Pisces) - this makes the first three days of the week tense and stressful - stock up on the good chocolate and the red wine NOW</i>. <br /><br />Some painful truths might come out over the next couple days.<b> Problems could come to light and the answers could be hard to find </b>(<i>maybe check that left side sofa cushion there is always something find-able under there</i>)<b>.&nbsp; </b><i>Everything</i> doesn't have to grind to a halt though. With Saturn in the picture, the solution may take time and some elbow grease. But with Saturn time is on our side. <br /><br /><b>Think the situation through</b>. <br /><br />It will be easy to say the wrong thing and put our foot in our mouth. Or maybe the right words don't come easy or don't come at all. Maybe we are talked over or just don't get our chance to speak. Maybe the less said the better.<br /><br />It will be easy for our thinking to go negative. Keep in mind this is a fast-moving transit. With the other energies at play this week, it could be easy to make a mountain out of a molehill.<br /><br />If it actually <i>is</i> a mountain, <b>there will be actions we can take later in the week to deal with it. </b>Remember we still have a heap of planets in Virgo - small precise steps, organization, stick to the facts.<br /><br />And we have the Sun in Libra - think 'diplomacy', think 'balance', think 'fairness' - and brush your hair. Appearances matter now. <br /><br />This is great energy (<i>Monday</i>) for solo work that focuses our mind on one thing for a long time. We could get alot done, but not alot of <i>different</i> things done. This is not the best energy to communicate (<i>Mercury</i>) with authority (<i>Saturn</i>). Not the best time for business negotiations. We could get caught up in the minutia (<i>Virgo</i>) and miss the big picture (<i>Sagittarius</i>). <br /><br />The Moon is in Sagittarius so we could be focused on Sagittarius themes - education, travel, foreign issues, politics, weddings, the media, public relations, grandchildren, legal issues, religion. The Moon's squares first to Venus and later to Jupiter could leave us a bit scattered.<br /><br />By <b>TUESDAY</b>, the approaching Jupiter/Uranus square is almost certainly being felt. See Thursday for the details. The Moon's conjunction with Saturn flattens out our mood. The Moon squares Mercury - our emotions and our head are in tension. Judging and being judged does not feel so good. Again this is Virgo/Sagittarius stuff. Two energies that naturally square each other. Sagittarius always wants more but Virgo knows how to use what we already have. Keep this in mind.<br /><br />On <b>WEDNESDAY</b>, Mercury (<i>in Virgo</i>) opposes Chiron (<i>in Pisces</i>). Something hurts. Sticks and stones can break our bones, but words can never hurt us - turns out to be a LIE. Use Virgo - stick with the facts, be practical, stay calm, do something with your <i>hands </i>- put one foot in front of the other.<br /><br />The Moon moves into "all-business, just get 'er done" Capricorn after being Void until 12:25PM EDT. People are more serious and concerned about their own safety and security for the next couple days. We might not be as emotionally available to each other now - keep this in mind when people want their space or seem colder than usual. Our emotions (<i>Moon</i>) need structure (<i>Capricorn</i>). I am not really sure what the hell I am saying with that- but it feels right. We have the first quarter Moon so whatever we started at the New Moon in Virgo is officially off the ground and we encounter our first <i>obstacles. </i><br /><br />The big news this week is the final Jupiter/Uranus opposition on <b>THURSDAY</b>. We will be feeling this all week. We have had three of these since Jupiter went into Libra last year. <br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">The final opposition this week could bring a surprise ending to the Jupiter/Uranus story which started on December 26th - although in some ways really started back in 2010.&nbsp; </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Results will be either <i>massively</i> disruptive or <i>massively </i>positive. Or both. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">With Uranus anything goes, so cross your fingers with this one.<b>&nbsp;</b></span> <br /><br />If you have planets or points around 27 degrees of the cardinal signs - Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn you will feel this one strongest. It has been building all month really.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;*****</div><br />People ask me how to handle Uranus transits. With Saturn transits you need to do the serious, responsible, hard work. With Neptune transits you need to stay grounded, meditate (<i>but not over-meditate</i>), make art and then close that art room door and go deal with the real world - avoid escaping. Read non-fiction. With Pluto we need to go deep, let go of things that are dead (<i>we will know they are dead because they will be leaving</i>). You know that movie heroine who goes into the dark basement even though we are all screaming from our seats for her to get in her car and drive to Target for a cheap locket that will break in a week<br /><br />(warning shameless plug ahead- my locket will not break in a week, it will last the rest of your life, it is available <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/polarity">HERE</a>)<br /><br />well we need to be <i>that</i> girl during a Pluto transit. Pluto transits just have to be survived. Ha!<br /><br />With Uranus transits, there isn't alot we can do once we are in them. The more "stuck" we are as Uranus approaches, the more dramatic the results of the transit. He will get us from A to B in the fastest, most direct manner and does not care at all if we are dropped on our ass in a prickly field of cacti.<br /><br />The more we are moving and changing before the transit the less we will feel his disruption. Note - he will be moving into our Taurus houses in April. Find what house he rules in your natal chart (<i>or ask me!</i>). That house theme is about to be shaken up! And Taurus is fixed earth - our Taurus house is a space we most naturally hunker down and get stuck. It's going to be interesting folks! <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;*****</div><br />Jupiter through Libra for the last year has been about balance within relationships, fairness, diplomacy. During this time Jupiter has done two things three times.<br /><br />He squared Pluto three times (<i>remember we talked early in the year about that elephant hiding behind the couch - that relationship issue that was going to get bigger and bigger in 2017 until we dealt with it</i>) and he opposed Uranus three times.<br /><br />This week is the final Uranus opposition. These boys don't move quickly so the energy will be sticking around awhile. We felt this in late December/early January, late February/early March and now late September/early October. <br /><br />If outside forces are not pushing us into new terrains, this energy could be making us antsy and impatient. I will do a full post about this.<br /><br />Also, on <b>THURSDAY,</b> Pluto stations direct (<i>expect a post</i>) after a five month retrograde. He moves toward a trine (<i>brakes off</i>) with Mars in Virgo which will be exact on SUNDAY. This one feels like PROGRESS. It will give us the strength (<i>Mars</i>) and staying power (<i>Pluto</i>) to achieve our goals!<br /><br />Happening hand-in-hand with the Jupiter/Uranus opposition makes me think of something moving in a brand new direction. There is some kind of <b>perfect timing </b>here.<br /><br />If we had some bad news/problem situations earlier in the week this is the energy we want to use to take right action!<br /><br />The bossy Capricorn Moon trines (<i>brakes off</i>) Mars. This gives us extra energy and the drive to get things done.<br /><br />On Thursday night the Moon will conjunct a strong stationing Pluto - lots of volatile emotions, jealousy, compulsion, possessiveness - this is in Capricorn so some chilly winds could be blowing! It could be a good night for a deep conversation where we MIGHT keep a level head, but I think I will pass on <i>that</i> and go to sleep!<br /><br />On<b> FRIDAY</b>, Venus (<i>in Virgo</i>) opposes Neptune (<i>in Pisces</i>). One of the reasons so much is happening is that we have all these planets in Virgo working their way through Neptune and Chiron oppositions!<br /><br />On the same day Mercury will move into Libra. So we have Mercury in Libra answering to Venus (<i>Libra's ruler</i>) and Venus in Virgo answering to Mercury (<i>Virgo's ruler</i>).<br /><br />This strengthens both Venus and Mercury. <br /><br />Venus/Neptune is good energy for art, music, using our imagination. A good time for<i> true forgiveness</i> and compassion, but also good energy for deluding ourselves with more pink paint. Leave the credit cards at home. On the other hand, if you market something to women - fantasy sells, so figure that out. <br /><br />Our energy might be low today. This is not the best time to sign a contract because we could miss important details. It will be easy to try and avoid the unpleasant stuff we don't want to deal with. I know it is Friday and we all just want the week to be over - but <b>try not to let the details slide <i>or</i> to give more than the situation warrants. </b>Boundaries will be leaky. I swear if I get another insect infestation with this Neptune aspect I am going to shutter my house and go live in my car - which I shouldn't joke about because of course many people have shuttered their houses and are living in their cars. A good day for meditation. Maybe not so good for jokes about homelessness. <br /><br />We could be inspired to create something beautiful now. <b>The world needs more beautiful.</b> Let's do <i>that. </i><br /><br />xo all<br /><br />back this week with some dailies, plus a look ahead at the big transits of 2018!Catherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-3806300749254648582017-09-22T08:22:00.000-04:002017-09-22T08:27:19.441-04:00Sun Into Libra | Equinox - the Sun begins to fall, bringing things into balance, natural cycles, those pesky other people, the beauty in everyday things<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hVhQNfz6yN8/WcT9D5tOG7I/AAAAAAAAOho/-7JlXWEiou0OX1GeWPn0V5Y6J7XLDbxlgCLcBGAs/s1600/bago_by_schude.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1141" height="392" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hVhQNfz6yN8/WcT9D5tOG7I/AAAAAAAAOho/-7JlXWEiou0OX1GeWPn0V5Y6J7XLDbxlgCLcBGAs/s640/bago_by_schude.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://schude.deviantart.com/art/BAGO-68012487">BAGO by schude</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />At 4:01PM EDT today the Sun moves into Libra - a day with an equal balance of daylight and dark.<br /><br />The Sun begins to fall (w<i>eakens</i>) as we move into longer nights and shorter days. It is the opposite down under (<i>the Sun begins to strengthen</i>). Western astrology is based on the Northern hemisphere where we move into Fall - which is not only about leaves!<br /><br />I have had a few emails from people linking me to videos about the end of days (<i>meaning the end of all our days!</i>) being 9/23. But don't fill up the credit cards just yet folks. I could imagine the end of civilization, maybe some kind of ice age, coming during the Age of Capricorn. But we have a couple thousand years of the Age of Aquarius between us and then.<br /><br />I know we are mostly exhausted, but let's not give up just yet. Saturn has been stopped for a long time and this is really zapping many people's drive. There have been losses and roadblocks and it is going to take work to get to where we want to be. It is like we are saying to ourselves, "I see these possibilities over THERE, but they are going to take alot of work and I am tired and not sure I want to do it <i>anymore</i>." Let's use nature's cycles to realize whatever it happening in our own life is a cycle, too. It seems that whenever the energy starts to feel like this - those doomsday prophecies are picked up by the news.<br /><br />Don't forget we are all in this together. Even at times when it feels like we are all alone! <b>Sometimes we just need to be shaken so our resting energy is provoked.</b> Maybe we are like that bottle of ketchup and would get all clumped up without some agitation.<br /><br />If we have tripped or "fallen" maybe we could try thanking this 'trigger', this 'benchmark' for what we are learning. I know it is hard to do that! And I have to somewhat spit those words out right now myself - sorry if I hit you! <br /><br />But imagine a life where everything went our way all the time. Would we really want that? And we know we don't, because if we collectively did, we would have that. This doesn't mean we want whatever is happening to us to happen to us when things go wrong - but the more we focus on what we don't want, the more "don't want" there is to focus on.<br /><br />The Sun in Libra is excellent energy to focus on beauty - where is the beauty in our life?<br /><br />Can we use all these laser-focused planets in Virgo to see (<i>Mercury</i>), feel (<i>Venus</i>) and touch (<i>Mars</i>) the real beauty in our lives? Can we see the beauty in the <i>stories</i> behind our wrinkles and gray hairs? Can we see how the <i>stories</i> make those lines and twisted follicles beautiful? And now that we have seen that in ourselves can we see the beauty in other people's scars and blemishes, too? <br /><br />We still have alot of inner planets in Virgo so the Virgo practicality and putting one foot in front of the other will still be a focus, but now the Sun (<i>our life force</i>) shifts into the sign of balance, compromise, relationships and fairness.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">A light (<i>the Sun</i>) will be shone on what is out-of-balance or what is unfair, particularly within relationships. The curtain is drawn back and our Libra houses (<i>and their themes</i>) <b>wake up</b>.&nbsp;</span> <br /><br />In some ways, because Libra is about weighing things out (<i>nothing is cut and dried here like the wheat during Virgo season</i>) things are harder when the Sun is in Libra. Libras sometimes (<i>not always</i>) appear wishy-washy, but it is because they were born between Summer and Winter - they can see both sides of everything!<br /><br /><b>With the Sun in Libra we will all be burning Libra fuel. We move ahead through balance, compromise and through our relationships with other people.&nbsp;</b><br /><br />We move into the <i>shadow</i> of Libra when we are passive-aggressive, pouring pink paint on garbage and pretending it is a Barbie dream house and putting what everyone else needs/wants ahead of ourselves thus building deep pockets of resentment that will explode all over us and everyone else by the time we get into Scorpio season. These are our no-no's now. Keep an eye out.<br /><br />(<i>the North Node is still in Leo - oxygen mask on our own face <b>first</b></i>) <br /><br />Write your Autumn bucket list. What do you want to do, see, experience? Think about that. <br /><br />xo allCatherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-24156367136230786372017-09-21T09:08:00.000-04:002017-09-21T11:47:08.133-04:00Sun Sextile Ceres, Venus Sesquiquadrate Pluto | spreading seeds, feels like a hug, back to square one with something, vampires suck, maybe stop looking for the reason, last day of summer ... sniffle<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NNRPRPxjPXc/WcO2M4kGTAI/AAAAAAAAOhU/a8NVapH62TgwJQTReAKRTzmpaKwibYUBgCLcBGAs/s1600/goodbye_by_ciril.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="907" height="440" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NNRPRPxjPXc/WcO2M4kGTAI/AAAAAAAAOhU/a8NVapH62TgwJQTReAKRTzmpaKwibYUBgCLcBGAs/s640/goodbye_by_ciril.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://schude.deviantart.com/art/goodbye-37147782">goodbye by Ciril</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The Sun, about to make his move into Libra and kick off a brand new season tomorrow, has a comforting sextile (<i>opportunity</i>) with mothering Ceres today (<i>Goddess of the seasons!</i>) at 29 degrees. Whenever universal timing offers up something like this (<i>synchronicity</i>) it pays to pay attention. <br /><br />People with the Sun sextile Ceres in their natal charts are often <i>generous</i> with their gifts/talents/resources. They are <i>fertile. </i>Maybe not always in the pro-creation of actual children, but they are able to spread their seeds (<i>gifts, talents, resources</i>) and have those seeds <i>germinate. </i>Conflicted, they also make great hoarders.<br /><br />With this energy in play today for all of us it would be good time to take action with the seeds we are spreading (<i>this could be a good time for a mailing or email campaign, but we would have to be quick about it since the Sun changes signs tomorrow at 4PM EDT</i>). And also with the stuff we are hanging onto that has outgrown its season.<br /><br />This could show up today as <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>something that feels like a hug </b></span>... I hope we all get one! Maybe some good advice, a warm cup of coffee, a smile just when we need it!<br /><br />The other thing we have going on today - besides all the stuff I wrote about in the weekly - is Venus (<i>now in Virgo</i>) sesquiquadrate Pluto (<i>in Capricorn</i>).<br /><br />Sesquiquadrates are 135 degree aspects and are considered 'minor' aspects. I usually don't write about them here, because I don't have time to look and there is so much else to write about, but I find when talking to someone about their natal chart that it is often the minor aspects that give them those Oprah "aha" moments.<br /><br />Sesquiquadrates fall between the trine (<i>90 degrees</i>) and the inconjunct (<i>150 degrees</i>). With trines we find things falling into place smoothly, talent we don't have to work for, stuff comes to us easy-peasy and we often take this stuff for granted. With inconjuncts things are out of balance, the two energies are not congruent, they don't get along, they can't work together, one side needs to adjust to the other, win-wins don't happen.<br /><br />Sesquiquadrates are the middle ground. There <i>is</i> ready ability here but without the balance to have the success we are looking for. In the natal chart they lead to faulty planning or difficulties through <i>inflexibility. </i>They give us a kind of tunnel vision. We have an urge to do something or to cause something to happen in a very specific and very controlled way. We don't always look at the real circumstances clearly - which are always changing! - because we are too focused on the "goal". We don't adjust when the situation changes. We don't see how this could all work so much easier if we just adjust!<br /><br />So sesquiquadrates usually require some kind of disappointment or loss that forces us to be FLEXIBLE.<br /><br />So, Venus (<i>freshly into Virgo</i>) and Pluto (<i>9 years into his 16 year journey through Capricorn</i>) are 135 degrees apart today.<br /><br /><b>This could be the time when a loss or disappointment shows up to teach us the gift of flexibility.&nbsp;&nbsp;</b><br /><br />Maybe we could have put alot of energy into the details of something and it feels like we did it all for nothing. We could be back at square one. Maybe we are trying to make the environment conform to <i>our</i> plan and that is not really how life works. Ugh!<br /><br />So now, moving forward, our planning will be <b>more realistic, more flexible, more<i> allowing</i> of life to take its course</b> and get us to the place we are wanting to be!<br /><br />This could also be, since this is Venus/Pluto - about toxic relationships. Vampires (<i>energy suckers, time suckers, resource suckers</i>), obsessions, power plays are all themes of Plutonian relationship dynamics. Maybe the blinders come off. Remember we can only change our own behavior, not anyone else's. <br /><br />Since the Sun is still in Virgo now the way through are those small, practical steps - if you are not a terribly practical person ask yourself what a practical person would do, or find one and actually ask them. Find a routine. Take it one day and one thing at a time. <br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Sometimes it is best to let go of trying to find the "reason" something is happening or the "lesson" in the loss. You have<i> absorbed</i> it. Trust that you have grown from it. You don't have to analyze (<i>Virgo!</i>) the thing to death. </span><br /><br />And remember the North Node of our collective way forward is in heart ruled Leo and a healthy heart is passionately self-loving. If we wouldn't want it for someone we love we shouldn't allow it for ourselves either. Keep this in mind.<br /><br />More info about the energies at play this week in the weekly forecast <a href="http://olivebites.blogspot.com/2017/09/astrology-forecast-for-creatives-week_17.html">HERE</a><br /><br />xo all - enjoy this last day of summer (or winter if you are down under)!Catherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-18244224494337033192017-09-20T06:24:00.000-04:002017-09-20T06:35:22.526-04:00New Moon in Virgo | looking past what isn't working, cleaning up, doing the mending, moving on from the mess<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6gRYHxplalg/WcI8de_5-PI/AAAAAAAAOhE/c6LdHwB2TR0-I2Kmv8RnOrujdhZj5WC9QCLcBGAs/s1600/cake_go_boom_by_schude.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1087" data-original-width="735" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6gRYHxplalg/WcI8de_5-PI/AAAAAAAAOhE/c6LdHwB2TR0-I2Kmv8RnOrujdhZj5WC9QCLcBGAs/s400/cake_go_boom_by_schude.jpg" width="270" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://prismes.deviantart.com/art/cake-go-boom-53852279">cake go boom by schude</a></td></tr></tbody></table>If the Leo Solar Eclipse on August 21st had been a regular New Moon this would be the day we would be putting that energy to bed.<br /><br />Instead the Solar Eclipse energy is in play until at least the next eclipse in Aquarius in mid February,<br /><br /><i>but</i> in some ways we are moving on <b>now</b>, especially after we get through the next couple days<br /><br />(I find specific eclipse events<i>, especially losses</i>, sometimes happen almost exactly to the day one month before or after the actual eclipse, sometimes two months). <br /><br />This morning's earthy New Moon in Virgo (<i>Sun and Moon in Virgo at 27 degrees</i>) AND also Mars, Mercury and Venus, this is very unusual - imagine a baby's chart if born today(!) - moves us past the last two New Moons that were both in fiery Leo. We also have both Saturn and Uranus going to enter earth signs (<i>Capricorn and Taurus</i>) over the next few months.<br /><br /><b>Earth is the new black. We can certainly feel that one!</b><br /><br />That last New Moon (<i>Solar Eclipse</i>), and the energies at play before and after, has drop-kicked our attention right where it needs to be. And now here we are in Virgo, trying to clean up Leo's mess ... <i>again</i>. This is why the Pluto in Virgo generation is exhausted - imagine being charged with a lifetime of this!<br /><br />This Moon is complicated. It is opposing Chiron (<i>in emotional Pisces</i>). The Virgo/Pisces polarity of healing and surrender (<i>letting go</i>) is very much activated. Chiron is the wound that can't be healed. Something here can't be fixed/cleaned up no matter how hard Virgo tries to make it work. Something will require an acceptance of an imperfection or acceptance of a vulnerability.<br /><br />Maybe we just don't have the right info/tools/skills/resources/timing - whatever this is.<br /><br />The Moon is inconjunct unpredictable Uranus (<i>in Aries</i>). This could create a sense of urgency. We need to fix this thing right <i>now. </i>Or maybe the problem itself hits us out-of-the-blue. Either way, the inconjunct tells us <b>there is no perfect fix here.</b> The signs involved - in this case Virgo and Aries have no middle ground. There is no real fix. There is just an adjustment we will need to live with. In astrology you will always find important points being made <i>multiple</i> times. You will see one thing in a chart that says something and then you will find another aspect that says the same thing (<i>sometimes you will see things three times</i>).<br /><br />Today's chart is defined by the fact that we can't put Humpty Dumpty together again. <br /><br />Mercury (<i>in Virgo</i>) is opposing Neptune (<i>in Pisces</i>) now. And because Mercury is ruler of this New Moon (<i>rules Virgo</i>) and Pisces is activated via the Moon (<i>and Sun's</i>) opposition to Chiron in Pisces - this Mercury/Neptune opposition's importance is increased. Probably alot. Neptune rules our imagination and opposing Mercury (<i>our mind</i>) we know that not all is as it seems now.<br /><br />I could even be totally misreading today's chart - keep this in mind!<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">This is not a good time to make an important decision because things can look better, or worse, than they actually are. Nothing will feel <i>certain</i>.&nbsp;</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">This is our brain (<i>Mercury</i>) on drugs (<i>Neptune</i>), but in the same way people who are drunk can't always tell they are drunk, we could think we are making stone cold sober decisions when we aren't. The facts can be skewed. We could get side-tracked away from what is <i>real.</i></span> <br /><br />We could be very tempted to do what is easy rather than what is right. This is one apple we don't want to bite. <br /><br />The best use of this New Moon energy is to do our Virgo!<br /><br />We might have to respond to something that we can't make 100% better, but we will still have to respond. Focus on the details. Use commonsense. Do one thing at a time. Do your best. Know that it won't be perfect. Nothing in nature is perfect. Know that perfect isn't <i>the point. </i><br /><br />Even though with all this Virgo - it's going to <i>feel</i> like it is!<br /><br />There is talk in the media about a doomsday of September 23rd. I don't see anymore of an astrological doomsday on this date than any other date lately. There are many places we could be living that feel like doomsday right now! When the energy on planet Earth reaches a certain crisis point the Earth itself will make changes. Keeping ourselves centered and balanced helps everyone. Note - this doesn't mean pouring pink paint on our problems and pretending they don't exist. It's Virgo season we are going to <b>have to do the work.&nbsp;</b><br /><br />For more info check the weekly <a href="http://olivebites.blogspot.com/2017/09/astrology-forecast-for-creatives-week_17.html">HERE</a><b>. </b><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>New Moon Guidelines</b></div><br />Set your intentions and make your affirmations for Virgo themes (or your natal Virgo house theme!) for the best outcomes - health, quality over quantity, service to others, attention to details, work, co-workers, employees, day to day activities, cleaning, organizing, pets.<br /><br />INTENTION TIPS: Let the earth guide you this month, plant your feet firmly on the ground, clear your head, write what your physical self, grounded by the earth, wants - not what you <i>think</i> you should write. Write your intentions down by hand in script on a blank piece of paper, speak the words out loud, maybe burn the paper and give the ashes back to the earth - <b>release your attention from these things knowing your <i>intention is known</i>.</b><br /><br />Life has heard you. Know these things are already yours. <b>&nbsp;</b><br /><br /><b>What do you do next? Do what is right in front of you. </b><br /><br />xo all<br /><br />(I find setting my intentions when I see that first little piece of the waxing Moon works best) Catherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-25459790208790022932017-09-19T08:05:00.000-04:002017-09-19T08:33:07.998-04:00Venus Into Virgo | nothing constructive about criticism, the power of discrimination, taking a closer look at what we want and what we already have<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--sVXAAp6r6Y/WcEF1H8yawI/AAAAAAAAOg0/c3QOQnEJhTQJpR3RIMF84WsSHbjGdUHPwCLcBGAs/s1600/audrey_hepburn_by_bluesaga331-d4iroz4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1057" data-original-width="755" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--sVXAAp6r6Y/WcEF1H8yawI/AAAAAAAAOg0/c3QOQnEJhTQJpR3RIMF84WsSHbjGdUHPwCLcBGAs/s400/audrey_hepburn_by_bluesaga331-d4iroz4.jpg" width="285" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.deviantart.com/art/Audrey-Hepburn-273389872">Audrey Hepburn by bluesaga331</a></td></tr></tbody></table>Today, Venus, after crossing over the 28 degree Leo eclipse degree, moves into stable and practical Virgo until mid-October when she comes home to Libra.<br /><br />Since Venus naturally rules our 2nd and 7th houses (<i>Libra and Taurus</i>) the themes of these houses <i>- love, money, self-esteem, values, relationships, women, beauty, our resources - </i>are subjected to Virgo's keen focus and attention to detail now.<br /><br />We will be analyzing what we want and what we have. We will be analyzing our relationships.<br /><br />The problems will stand out. We won't be able to miss them. And since what we focus on grows, sometimes things get worse before they get better during this transit. But this is excellent energy to fix what needs fixing and accept (<i>or eliminate</i>) what just isn't fixable. <br /><br />Our Virgo houses get a visit from lovely Venus. Virgo Suns and Ascendants get more attractive - both easier on the eye and able to attract what they want. Our natal Virgo houses get more attractive, too - what is your dream for your Virgo house?<br /><br />We have a New Moon in Virgo late tonight (<i>we will talk about it tomorrow</i>) so now is the time to think about <i>that</i>!<br /><br />Venus in Virgo is about loving the <i>details</i> of something, enjoying the <i>work, </i>appreciating the <i>craftsmanship and</i><i> complexity </i>of something or someone or some situation<i> - </i><span style="font-size: x-large;">yes, also, noticing the imperfections, <i>Virgo can't miss those</i>, <b>and</b> choosing <i>not</i> to dwell on them.</span><br /><br />Venus in Virgo works for her money. She gets us clear on what we want. She gets her hands dirty (and then she scrubs them <i>clean</i>). Venus in Virgo can make love critical. We can use this discrimination and ability to see things clearly with our work and make things<i> more beautiful</i>.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">We could also use this energy to criticize the people we love. But let's not do that. <i>Constructive</i> criticism is not possible. It's still criticism. Nothing constructive there</span>. <br /><br />Things could get bitchy and people could get hurt. <b>With people, it's always best to work on ourselves and not others. We will then attract from others something different as they mirror the something different we project onto them.</b> We can't change people into something they're not. So we allow Venus (<i>love</i>) to soften Virgo (<i>critical thinking, seeing what is wrong</i>).<br /><br />Here is a story I wrote on the blog a couple years ago. Right now hubs and I are sorting out our own Eclipse mess and it's a good reminder for me now, too. We didn't get the boat into the water at all this summer .... and that's another story.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">***** </div><br />Hubs, a Virgo rising,<i> </i>bought a Hurricane Sandy wreckage boat. He's been working on it for almost 3 years. It finally went back into the water last week. It's docked about 15 minutes from our house in the river. We went out yesterday morning (<i>river to ocean</i>). It was my first time on the boat. As we were loading the things we brought with us I noticed George running a towel along the floor of the entire boat with his foot. We would carry a few things into the boat, I would head back to the truck, he would swab the deck and then join me at the truck. Three times he swabbed the deck.<br /><br />This is the kind of thing that used to drive me nuts.<br /><br />I might have said "for Pete's sake the boat is going to get a little dirty you know - we'll just hose it off" or I might have worried about his inability to just enjoy the fruits of his labor and <i>relax</i> for 5 minutes.<br /><br />But I thought about Venus in Virgo; about the attention to detail this man I loved had put into something he loves (<i>and my own Virgo mid-heaven that zeroes in on this kind of stuff</i>) and I said, "you certainly keep this boat clean".<br /><br />And not in a bitchy, 'meaning the opposite of what I say' kind of way, but purely from an openhearted space. He responded, "well, I spent a lot of days cleaning it ... <i>and</i> I forgot to bring a hose." We laughed. With Venus in Virgo we are reminded, in small ways and big ones, that <b>we get what we pay attention to.&nbsp;</b><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>*****&nbsp;</b></div><br />Venus in Virgo can bring a woman/women to help with Virgo themes or focus us on a woman/women who is important to our Virgo theme - work, health, paperwork, organization, our day-to-day routine, service to others, co-workers, the people we hire and our pets. Venus energy into these areas can make this stuff more enjoyable and smooth off any rough edges. <br /><br />There is lots of other stuff happening today, too, so be sure to read the weekly <a href="http://olivebites.blogspot.com/2017/09/astrology-forecast-for-creatives-week_17.html">HERE</a> .<br /><br />We will talk about the New Moon tomorrow - start thinking about your New Moon intentions for those Virgo themes listed above! xo allCatherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-12975203934888360612017-09-17T16:55:00.000-04:002017-09-18T14:49:04.977-04:00Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of September 18, 2017 | new moon, new season, new energy to move that eclipse story forward - sex, lies and videotape<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SJywb2MTHcY/Wb7UgisFYuI/AAAAAAAAOgc/Rtn32GSpmWw8PV3tpj0X_QqZPEmcFt38ACLcBGAs/s1600/autumn_by_lubitella.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SJywb2MTHcY/Wb7UgisFYuI/AAAAAAAAOgc/Rtn32GSpmWw8PV3tpj0X_QqZPEmcFt38ACLcBGAs/s640/autumn_by_lubitella.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.deviantart.com/art/autumn-140572863">autumn by Lubitella</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />This week we get a New Moon, a new season and a new area of focus for both the Sun and Venus as we build toward the final Jupiter/Uranus opposition at the end of the month! Mercury starts walking NEW ground. Uranus is active so maybe something unexpected comes to light and must be responded to.<br /><br />Chiron is active so our response is probably not going to totally fix whatever is broken or replace whatever is missing and will quite possibly ... <i>hurt</i>. Since our Chironic wounds are carried from childhood when we were <i>innocent</i> there is a large degree of <i>unfairness</i> about them. We will talk about this in the New Moon post. <br /><br />Venus has reached the North Node and will now hit the Solar Eclipse degree of 28 Leo and then move into Virgo. Whatever the eclipse has removed/ripped from around our heart (<i>stems from family story and "unfair" wound/weight</i>) it has created the space for loving Venus to <i>penetrate</i>. <br /><br />Note - if we need to make a decision and haven't made it yet, this week is NOT the best energy since we have two Neptune oppositions. Facts will be blurry, things could look better than they are or worse than they are, we could be <i>deceived</i>.<br /><br />On the other hand if you have already made a decision this might not be the week to un-make it either. I know I said we need to make decisions and we do and we will, but new information that comes in this week may not be totally reliable. <b>We'll need to do our homework. We'll need to double check our facts. </b><br /><br />What are we aware of now that we were not aware of just a few weeks ago? Pay attention. This week's New Moon in Virgo is another chapter in this story and it takes us back to 2015 or spring 2016. The main message/gist of the thing has probably already been delivered though. <br /><br />Let's look at the Moons and this week's action:<br /><br />On <b>MONDAY</b>, we are coming off Sunday's trine between Venus and Uranus, so <b>something/someone new and unusual may catch/have caught our eye. </b>With Venus still so near to the North Node of fate - <u>this could be life-changing</u>. This is about our Leo and Aries natal houses. Venus will hit the 28 degree Leo Solar Eclipse degree early this week, too. Something is beginning to seep inside the heart-space the Solar Eclipse has left unguarded - <i>something good. </i><br /><br />The Moon is in Virgo now, so our minds are clear and active. It is easier to stay organized. This is good energy to get work done, to be of service to others, to <b>take care of</b> our pets and <b>our </b><i><b>health.</b> </i>We will be focused on organization, stream-lining what we need, eliminating what we don't. Keep in mind Virgo energy can create problems just so we have something to fix!<br /><br />The Moon will hook up with Mars in the afternoon - we will be more assertive, people could be more aggressive and even well-intentioned criticisms will carry some <i>bite</i>. The Moon then hooks up with mental, communicative Mercury - this is good energy for negotiating, working with complicated information, remembering <i>details</i>. By night fall the Moon is opposing Neptune - dissolving boundaries and maybe coaxing us to the dark side with cookies .... stay strong!<br /><br />(<i>Speaking of boundaries has anyone seen the new movie "mother"? Hubs and I went Saturday night. He didn't like it - hated the final acts. I was traumatized and need therapy ... I am not kidding.</i> <i>Am I the only person connecting this movie to Mother Earth and patriarchy? Probably not, need to google.</i>)<br /><br />On<b> TUESDAY,</b> Venus moves from Leo to join the Sun, Moon, Mercury and Mars at the Virgo party - which is, yes, attended to by staff who clean up our crumbs before they even hit our napkin.<br /><br />Imagine a baby born today - Virgo on steroids, challenging to be her/his mama! Of course that baby would have a Virgo Moon, so see me (<i>mama</i>) through the lens of Virgo and that would force me to <i>really</i> get my act together.<br /><br />Collectively we will be applying Virgo's penetrating practicality to our Venus themes (<i>love, money, values, self-esteem</i>) until October 15th. This transit also makes us more receptive (<i>Venus</i>) to our Virgo themes (<i>health, work, service, practicality, organization, pets, co-workers</i>). <br /><br />Virgo Suns and ascendants get more "attractive", meaning both easier on the eye and able to attract what they want, and all of our natal Virgo houses get more attractive, too. In Virgo, Venus won't be impressing anyone with Leo drama - the appeal of Venus here will be about the work, the service, the quality, the devotion. Love can be more fussy and people can show they care by nagging and criticism, so let's try not to take it personally when someone points out the flaws in our plan, typo on our report, lipstick on our teeth, etc. And let's try to reel this tendency in a bit with ourselves. Venus in Virgo can cause affection to fizzle when we, and others, start zeroing in on the flaws. <br /><br />The Moon (<i>in Virgo</i>) will square (<i>tension</i>) Saturn (<i>in Sagittarius</i>). Mercury (<i>in Virgo</i>) will oppose Neptune (<i>in Pisces</i>). We have had dreamy Neptune in Pisces since 2012 and we have 8 more years of a strong Neptune (<i>ruler of Pisces</i>) opposing Virgo! No wonder our thinking is muddled, we can't tell truth from fiction, we are drifting off course, we are under water, everyone wants to escape and no one can make a clear decision. Neptune!<br /><br />All the planets in Virgo are also working their way through an opposition to Chiron (<i>also in Pisces</i>). If we try to escape our reality in Virgo - we are going to have a health crisis, an injury - we will be called back into our <i>body</i>. Remember the Virgo/Pisces nodes of 2015 and early 2016 - how is that story playing out now? I don't have enough hours in the day to write about this. Ugh!<br /><br />Anyhoo, this is NOT a good day to come to an important decision or sign a long-term contract - we will have missed something, change our mind later, things could look better than they are, yada, yada. This is the culmination of the Mercury/Neptune cycle that started on March 4, 2017 if that date means anything to you. <br /><br />(<i>in U.S. politics Google is telling me this was the date Trump accused Obama via Twitter of wiretapping Trump Tower and the date of the March 4 Trump - which I don't actually remember, although with his Uranus/Sun aging us in dog years I think I can be forgiven for forgetting this one - ack!</i>).<br /><br />This is not a good time to leave things unsaid because the other person will walk away with the wrong impression. <b>Speak clearly.</b> Be specific. State the facts. And know that even if you do all these things - the other person could still walk away with the wrong impression. <i>We could, too.</i><br /><br />Mercury/Neptune is a great combination for lies and wishful thinking. <b>Avoid drugs and alcohol - we will need a clear head. </b>And if you were born around 1962-1965 be especially attentive and focused this week - watch that what you say is what you mean. It will be easy to say something that comes back to bite you or to hear something that bites and make a move you regret. Keep a cool head.<br /><br />Think about what is happening here when these energies connect - our mental boundaries (<i>Mercury</i>) are dissolved (<i>Neptune</i>). We could think of things we haven't thought of before with this boundary gone, see things in a new way - just know that everything we are seeing/thinking may not be ... real. This doesn't mean having access to these realms isn't a good thing and it doesn't mean we can't make these thoughts/ideas real. Maybe we can. Maybe not. It's a fine line between practical reality (<i>Mercury in Virgo</i>) and our unbounded imaginings (<i>Neptune in Pisces</i>) now. Or no line, actually ...<br /><br /><b>Let's try to avoid making important decisions until next week when these two planets separate.</b><br /><br />On <b>WEDNESDAY</b>, we have the <b>New Moon in Virgo at 27 degrees</b> (<i>I will do a post</i>). This is the first New Moon since the big Solar Eclipse in Leo on August 21st. I'm not a huge fan of this Moon's aspects, but it is what it is. We will be doing more adjusting to the Solar Eclipse energies. The Moon is inconjunct Uranus and opposing Chiron and with the Sun and Moon fixated (<i>in Virgo</i>) on what is not working, broken, unhealthy or missing, we could feel an urgency to fix something that just can't be fixed. We'll do our best with it. And we will avoid those Piscean escapes (<i>vices</i>) ...<br /><br />On <b>THURSDAY</b>, the Moon in social Libra squares powerful Pluto. This is about power games within relationships - control issues, obsession. Relationship secrets/ stuff we don't want to look at, could come out now. By night-time the Moon is sextile (<i>opportunity</i>) Saturn in Sagittarius. This allows us to prioritize the right stuff, stay grounded and respond responsibly.<br /><br />On <b>FRIDAY</b>, the Moon is void until 1:40PM EDT when it enters Scorpio - this is not a good morning to start anything new or put anything out that we want something to <i>come of.</i><br /><br />Mercury (<i>in Virgo</i>) trines (<i>brakes off</i>) Pluto (<i>in Capricorn</i>). Good for communications regarding career matters. <b>We could say something that deeply impacts someone or they could say something to us</b>. Good for deep conversations. Good for research. Good for organizing our business communications, emails, etc. We could be dealing with other people's resources, taxes, debts, loans, inheritances, sex, reproduction, death, rebirth. <br /><br />The Sun enters Libra kicking off a new season with the Fall Equinox (<i>spring if you are down under</i>). We'll talk about this chart later in the week because we will be dealing with it (<i>collectively</i>) for a while. We still have alot of Virgo, but our Libra houses are waking up!<br /><br /><i>All</i> our cages are being rattled or are about to be. Hang in there, it really does all work out in the end, so if it's not working out we know it's not the end .... back with the dailies. xo<br /><br />Please remember the Moon transits are in play on the dates listed, the other planets for some days before and after the dates listed. The Mars/Mercury argumentative energy from previous weeks continues to be in play. Drive safely. The energies combining this week (<i>Neptune/Mars, Neptune/Mercury, Mercury/Mars</i>) could feed things like misleading action and/or words, force or aggression out of proportion to the situation, anger fed by fantasy, unrealistic plans and actions and generally lots of confusion over how to best move forward or what to do. <b>Give yourself a break. Nobody else knows what the hell they are doing either.</b><br /><br />All the nasty Trump jokes (<i>Mars/Mercury</i>) at the Emmys were not very helpful. Anything divisive is not very helpful right now ....<br /><br />Catherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-62781008703663332852017-09-16T08:11:00.000-04:002017-09-16T08:14:27.636-04:00Mercury Conjunct Mars ... again | headstrong, argumentative, pushing the conversation, pushing the idea, the review is over and we are ready to get started<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XLUXydNajVE/Wb0Rx-ouXTI/AAAAAAAAOgM/S0_1aqV8SEEaXiGO2F6qO7OuCFiKWun6ACLcBGAs/s1600/odyssey_by_vertudesign-d31wltm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XLUXydNajVE/Wb0Rx-ouXTI/AAAAAAAAOgM/S0_1aqV8SEEaXiGO2F6qO7OuCFiKWun6ACLcBGAs/s640/odyssey_by_vertudesign-d31wltm.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://joagna.deviantart.com/art/Odyssey-184599418">Odyssey by Vertu Design</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Mercury and Mars have been dancing together for weeks (<i>highly unusual!</i>). They met up on September 3rd when Mercury was moving backward (<i>retrograde</i>). They meet again today with both energies (<i>our head and our ability to act</i>) <b>moving forward</b> - we are post eclipse, eyes wide open.<br /><br />So what are we going to do? The review, the reflection - is over.<br /><br />Maybe we get a second shot at something from early September. Maybe this is another argument (<i>Mercury/Mars is great energy for a rip roaring confrontation</i>) or more likely the same one being rehashed - last time Mars was strong and direct in a fire sign and Mercury was still retro in Leo<i>. Now</i> Mercury is strong in Virgo, a sign he rules and Mars is not quite so flashy. So Mars is a little less powerful now and Mercury is a lot stronger. There is greater potential for a cool head to win this round.<br /><br /><b>Maybe we need to have the uncomfortable argument to find where the blockages are. </b>The bigger the blowup the older and deeper the pain.<br /><br />Or maybe we need to walk away from unproductive discussions and focus on how to get what we thought we needed from the other person from ourselves. Maybe we need to just let it go.<br /><br />We are more likely to be comfortable expressing anger OR sorrow, but not both (<i>the Course in Miracles teaches they are really both fear in disguise</i>). So we will be more comfortable with anger and repress sorrow (<i>hubs</i>) or be more comfortable with sorrow and repress anger (<i>me</i>).<br /><br />We'll push whatever we are not comfortable with onto other people for them to act out for us. This is mostly done unconsciously, but when we get conscious about this stuff - well, first our world is majorly rocked then majorly ripe for <i>real</i> change. Alot of this past season has been about family dynamics, old stories that need to be put to bed - we will know what these are by the way they trigger our bodies and emotions. <b>This isn't so much a time of progress as a time for healing ...</b><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>****</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>(I decided to take an hour beach-break yesterday morning and enjoy a little "local-summer" now that the tourists are mostly gone. I am sitting in the front of a long line of cars making a left turn at a red arrow waiting for the bridge to close and the gates to open. This arrow is new and I'm sitting there thinking it's a smart new addition because when the gates come down, and block the traffic in front of the bridge, everyone used to pile up in the intersection and the traffic going straight through (<i>not over the bridge</i>) used to get stuck, too.<br /><br />We are sitting for a bit. Bridge openings on this road can take a while. Suddenly someone behind me beeps their horn. Then someone else. Soon at least a dozen people are beeping and yelling out their windows at me. I am not sure they can all see what I see, but I am still looking at a red arrow and the bridge rails closed. I am thinking WTH. Well maybe I am thinking WTF. Well maybe by now I have my arm out the window with my middle finger extended.<br /><br />And yes, I am thinking to myself that I must be really pissed off to be attracting this much "pissed off" in my direction. <br /><br />I inch up a bit, so the tractor trailer behind me can get around me and into the empty right lane (<i>there is an empty right lane next to me for cars going straight and not left over the bridge</i>) - maybe he wants to avoid the bridge wait and drive straight? But no, he swoops around me to the left, along with four other cars, blocking the intersection and piling in front of the gate.<br /><br />I was thinking about Mars/Mercury (<i>Mercury also rules transportation</i>) and about how this could have, in the past, triggered old stuff for me the way traffic situations tend to do to us - <b>other times in life we have been cut off, left behind, out-maneuvered</b> - but it didn't this time. I kept a cool head - well, my left middle finger got a little hot and itchy, but as a person more comfortable with sadness than anger, that anger had to come out. It felt appropriate to the situation (<i>plus I live in Jersey</i>).<br /><br />I could see the red arrow and the closed gates. Maybe the other drivers could, too, but maybe they <i>couldn't</i>. Maybe they got around me and said to themselves "oh, so <i>this</i> is the hold up".<br /><br />With the Mars/Mercury energy peaking today knowing that other people don't have the info/view/background knowledge that we have can help avoid a tussle. It can also show us our triggers.)<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><br /><b>Maybe we push (<i>Mars</i>) the idea/conversation (<i>Mercury</i>). </b>We decide (<i>Mercury</i>) we take action (<i>Mars</i>).<br /><br />We still have the Black Moon Lilith (<i>the uncontrolled woman, sexual freedom</i>) story in play, the Venus (<i>love, money, values</i>) story in play, the Moon in fun-loving Leo, the Sun in practical Virgo shining a light on our harvest AND all the ways we screwed this harvest up (<i>damn nit picky Virgo</i>) and all the ways it was screwed up for us (<i>not everything is under our control</i>) and all the ways we freaking got lucky.<br /><br />What are we going to do with all of this?<br /><br />I am about to hit a local flea market and then clean the pool, so we can close it up for the season (<i>sniffle</i>). I hope everyone enjoys their Saturday.<br /><br />We'll use Mars/Mercury to move forward. We'll watch for Mars/Mercury triggers.<br /><br />.... xo all<br /><br /><br />Catherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-13137909371922135562017-09-15T08:09:00.001-04:002017-09-15T14:10:42.382-04:00Venus Sextile Juputer | increased expectations, opportunities for more love/more money, shop smart, drive safely, watch your tongue, play with the kids<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H4vOjNMBgVQ/WbvBbIhDq5I/AAAAAAAAOf8/LYeOOMxO2FscSQsChmrpxE3otNRvZ5SCACLcBGAs/s1600/ddbe8b9f2ea4870511e879b94bd822a9-d2wlrv4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="750" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H4vOjNMBgVQ/WbvBbIhDq5I/AAAAAAAAOf8/LYeOOMxO2FscSQsChmrpxE3otNRvZ5SCACLcBGAs/s640/ddbe8b9f2ea4870511e879b94bd822a9-d2wlrv4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://julie-de-waroquier.deviantart.com/art/kids-175695952">kids by Joa Gna</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Today, Venus (<i>in Leo</i>) sextiles Jupiter (<i>in Libra</i>) at 24 degrees. <b>There is opportunity for expansion/celebration/to get lucky.</b> Personally, the opportunity will be between your late degree Leo and Libra houses.<br /><br />Collectively this will be about love, money, self-esteem, our values, women, beauty, children, recreation, romance, fun jiving (<i>all those Venus and Leo themes</i>) finding their happy places through our groups, social activities, chance encounters (<i>Venus is still conjunct that North Node!</i>), women, travel, education, foreign, weddings, higher thinking.<br /><br />I know this sounds like a word salad. Because it is. Take what you need!<br /><br />This would be a good time to begin a new relationship - personal or business. With Mercury so close to Mars (<i>exact tomorrow</i>) there could be some bickering, maybe quite a lot of bickering, but it might be worth it!<br /><br />Watch your wallet because Venus/Jupiter is good for spending money and might not care if we actually have any. On the other hand funds spent on our appearance or our relationships is probably not a bad thing. Just keep your eye on the benjamins today and through the weekend.<br /><br />Jupiter brings increased EXPECTATIONS.<br /><br />In this case it would be around our relationships, love and money. And because we often seem to get what we expect we are going to get this can be very helpful. Hence, his reputation as a kind of astrological Santa Claus. <br /><br />Keep in mind though that Jupiter is a planet made up entirely of hot air (<i>gases</i>). Not everything will pan out in huge ways. Some things will just kind of fade away like a dream. Venus is moving toward an inconjunct with wounded healer Chiron, so some of the promise of this energy will need to be fine-tuned. Something might trigger a previous wounding. <br /><br />With Venus in Leo new doors will open (<i>North Node!</i>) fastest with a Leo attitude - optimistic, happy, generous. There are multiple opportunities here and we simply can't screw this up. <br /><br /><b>The greatest opportunities for our collective will come through our belief that things can get better for all of us. </b><br /><br />The Moon is in Cancer. It opposed Pluto just about the time of the London bombing. And we have Mercury (<i>transportation</i>) moving toward an exact conjunction with Mars (<i>violence</i>) tomorrow. What we see in the collective is always at work in our own lives, too. So take care with machinery. Drive safely. Passionate conversations and arguments can be dropped like bombs so don't initiate confrontations. Think before you speak. <br /><br />By mid day the Moon will be sextiling (<i>opportunity</i>) the Sun - in Virgo, so opportunities for a light to be shone on detailed work, service or our health. This is good for seeing both sides of a situation and for having alternate views work together. The Moon goes void at 5:23 EDT. With an interaction with unexpected "out-of-the-blue" Uranus as her parting shot - we could have some unexpected emotions (<i>ie a reason for unexpected emotions</i>) later in the day. After the Moon gets into Leo late tonight would be a good time for fun, romance, kids.<br /><br />Don't plan to get to sleep early! xo allCatherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-48675163846414228532017-09-14T08:22:00.001-04:002017-09-14T11:52:16.663-04:00Venus Conjunct the North Node | affirmation we are moving in the right direction, wild women make history plus a warning about too many green bean casseroles<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OD_rA8OD0Qw/Wbpy7j_ff6I/AAAAAAAAOfs/ZNF_wh9BLtcu3bZKNKWWuZi62q8uA46oQCLcBGAs/s1600/7b5099f4cda5d1dfdd78dd2f18738ae2-d2pe96a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OD_rA8OD0Qw/Wbpy7j_ff6I/AAAAAAAAOfs/ZNF_wh9BLtcu3bZKNKWWuZi62q8uA46oQCLcBGAs/s640/7b5099f4cda5d1dfdd78dd2f18738ae2-d2pe96a.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://quadratiges.deviantart.com/art/If-the-dream-flies-away-163587826">If the dream flies away by Julie-de-Waroquier</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />This week we have seen Venus (<i>in Leo</i>) trine (<b>brakes off</b>) Saturn, then the Sun moved into an exact square with Saturn (<b>brakes on</b>) and now Venus (<i>love, money, self-esteem, our values, women, beauty</i>) in Leo (<i>creative work, children, romance, recreation</i>) moves into an exact conjunction - at 23 degrees - with the North Node (<i>our future</i>).<br /><br /><b>Pay attention to what comes to your attention now. </b><br /><br />There should be an affirmation that you are moving in the right direction - or a nudge in a new one! This will involve the themes I have listed above and/or the theme of your natal Leo house - <i>yes, this is the same house/theme we have been talking about for weeks via that total Solar Eclipse in Leo.</i><br /><br />Venus is going to hit the eclipse degree next week but we might get a preview now. There could be an opportunity to push a little further toward what "our heart" (<i>Leo</i>) wants. With Saturn playing a part in this week's story line working with Saturn's discipline, limits and responsibilities will be key here. Nothing works unless we do. <br /><br />At the same time Venus is also trining Black Moon Lilith (<i>the out of bounds woman, the woman who plays by her own rules, sexual freedom, power</i>) in Sagittarius. Interesting that it is Margaret Sanger's birthday (<i>Planned Parenthood founder</i>) and Hillary Clinton has been in the news again lately. Black Moon Lilith will conjunct the North Node in a couple days, so there could be even more of a spotlight/acceptance for out of bounds women/women's issues or personal power.<br /><br />Her trine to Venus as Venus conjuncts the North Node of destiny hints (<i>not that BML ever speaks softly about anything!</i>) the part of ourselves/the situation/the relationship/the creative project that might normally be in some way "out of bounds" or not conventionally accepted (<i>even offensive, think - the things we don't talk about in polite society - sex, money, power, our flaws, our vulnerabilities</i>) - will need to be included. If we leave the uncomfortable pieces of ourselves to wither on the vine now the whole orchard goes down, too. The trine should make this acceptance process move smoothly.<br /><br />We might not even notice the trine, we'll just realize later on that some formerly unacceptable part of us has been merged into the whole and we are better for it. Or we take the new job and realize we didn't ask about the money! There is always a flip-side.<br /><br />We don't want to be putting up with a "dis-empowerment" in whatever situation we are dealing with (<i>although with Saturn involved we know everything won't be all sunshine and flowers</i>). We are connecting with the fire of millions of female voices that have been dis-empowered.<b> We have more power than we think we do.&nbsp;</b><br /><br />The Moon is in Cancer today and tomorrow so we will all be feeling more sensitive, more in need of nourishment and care. The Moon will have some nice aspects with Neptune <b>making us more compassionate and more imaginative.</b> We can hold a space for someone else without judgement more easily now. This is a good day for meditation or some kind of grounding practice.<br /><br /><b></b>Mercury isn't covering new ground yet and the Moon is waning - this is the time of tying things up, planning, not rushing into something new. As early as next week we'll have Mercury covering new ground and a New Moon in Virgo - we will be pushed into something new soon enough, trust me on this one.<br /><br />We might want to push off those big decisions, and we likely can for a few more days, but they <b>need to get resolved this month</b> or life will force our hand anyway.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Decisions made now need to take into account the lessons we learned over the last few weeks. Then we decide. Then we decide to not look back.&nbsp;</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">That's all that is required of us. Life can use whatever decision we make to get us where we need to go if we don't disrespect life by disregarding these last few weeks. <i>Really.</i>&nbsp;</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Save the big new moves for a few more days though. Let Mercury start covering new ground and the Moon to start waxing. For now, tie up loose ends. Plan. Do what is right in front of you.</span><br /><br />The Moon in Cancer is squaring Uranus and hooking us into the next big aspect - the Jupiter/Uranus opposition on September 28th. That date and the following couple weeks will be challenging for many people <i>(in the collective the Trump vs legal issues or Trump vs media story will be <b>peaking</b></i>). And Pluto will station direct in Capricorn the same day!<br /><br />There are BIG changes ahead for all of us - both collectively and personally. By next April we will have 3 outer planets in new signs, including Uranus, who last changed signs on March 11, 2011 (<i>the day of the Fukushima earthquake</i>). And both Mars and Venus will go retrograde in 2018! It will be another big year to go over and over things.<br /><br />We have October, November and December to make the big personal changes (<i>and you may have already made them - many, many people have - but if you <b>know</b> you were/are supposed to make some kind of move/change, but haven't - this timing is for YOU, get something started with this</i>). At the end of December Saturn comes home to Capricorn. Daddy's home. Things could get more stable but also more <i>stuck</i>. We might miss this mutable, crazy year. <br /><br />How is that possible? Well, have I said before that winter is coming?<b>&nbsp;</b><br /><br />We are still in the season of the harvest and we are all harvesting something. If you have a kitchen filled with green beans (<i>like me</i>) and really wish you had planted some eggplant and kale (<i>actually the critters ate the kale</i>) - <b>well, it's too late to plant eggplant and kale now!</b><br /><br />So stop obsessing over<i> that </i>and make what you can make with the green beans.<br /><br />Figure out a way to use your green beans to get the eggplant and kale or you will be eating green beans all winter. Maybe you like the <i>stability</i> of knowing what you will have for dinner (green beans!) but most likely you will feel <i>stuck</i> with them.<br /><br />And now I've made myself hungry ... but not for green beans. xo allCatherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-14030469289462899532017-09-13T08:39:00.001-04:002017-09-13T12:29:47.587-04:00Sun Square Saturn | meet the wall (no, not THAT wall)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yIH2XtIpCJA/WbkkR_MsfoI/AAAAAAAAOfY/oFECVGdTe8cojnEYdn10x8WAEXWK3yAigCLcBGAs/s1600/the_wall_by_alicefaux.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="887" data-original-width="781" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yIH2XtIpCJA/WbkkR_MsfoI/AAAAAAAAOfY/oFECVGdTe8cojnEYdn10x8WAEXWK3yAigCLcBGAs/s640/the_wall_by_alicefaux.jpg" width="562" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.deviantart.com/art/the-wall-71792302">the wall by alice faux</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The Moon, still in multi-tasking and communicative Gemini has some nice aspects this morning with both Venus (<i>sextile</i>) and Jupiter (<i>trine</i>) - this would be a good morning for communicating with a partner, teaching, some kind of PR opportunity, social something or other.<br /><br />Before going void, she sextiles (<i>opportunity</i>) Uranus (<i>the unexpected, the future, freedom</i>). Uranus is in Aries for a few more months and her interactions with our Moon today could have us feeling ambitious and looking for something <i>new.&nbsp;</i><br /><br />At 2:35PM EDT<i> </i>the Moon goes void until dinnertime. We'll be left dangling with that sextile to Uranus pushing us to close up early and make a run for it. The Moon will enter Cancer at 6:12PM EDT leading to a couple days where we would all prefer to hunker down at home or with people and places that feel like home. Our emotions will naturally be soothed by what <i>nourishes </i>us and its lack will be more strongly felt.<br /><br />The Moon is in the last quarter phase of her monthly cycle. And Mercury is getting ready to begin covering new ground next week - <b>this is the time to put any finishing touches on projects started before late July or follow up with any appropriate situations from before that time. </b><br /><br />With the Quarter Moon happening in fast moving and "too many irons in the fire" Gemini we could be feeling rushed, under-appreciated or over-worked. The Moon is winding down now. Find some time this week to unwind a bit, too. <br /><br /><i></i>In the meantime, back on the ranch, the Sun (<i>in Virgo</i>) is hitting her exact square with Saturn (<i>in Sagittarius</i>) at 21 degrees. These two will be close enough to have this tension/stress in play all week.<br /><br />This is Saturn's 2nd square (<i>due to his retrograde</i>) with the Sun since we started our new Saturn cycle back on December 10th at 18 degrees Sagittarius when these two power players met up.<br /><br /><i></i>This is that wall, or obstacle, we talked about in the weekly (<i>ie fire breathing dragon</i>). There are GROWING PAINS.<br /><br />The Sun will shine a spotlight this week on whatever this is for us. <b>Our life force/creativity is blocked somehow. There is pressure, tension, frustration.</b> Maybe too much work or too much service is being required of us. We could doubt our own abilities and any space we "<i>don't have what it takes</i>" could be right in our face and possibly even on view for others.<br /><br />Maybe we'll get a "no". Maybe something that stabilizes us comes to an end or something requiring additional responsibilities/work could begin. <br /><br />Whatever this wall is for our egos in this cycle - we hit it. "DAM!" said the fish when she did. Ack!<br /><br />Patience and diligence (<i>sorry!</i>) are the only antidote to a Saturnian wall. We'll get through this. Time is on our side here.<br /><br />(September is a big decision month and no one is going to feel like they have enough time/facts, etc to make the best decision. In October, Jupiter - higher thinking and remember Saturn is answering to him! - will move from Libra where he can see both sides and wants things to be fair, and into Scorpio where he will not be dealing with any crap.)<br /><br />This square could be most strongly felt by the mutables - Gemini, Sagittarius, Virgo and Pisces - and anyone with planets or points around 21 degrees Sagittarius or 21 degrees Virgo. But since this is the Sun we are talking about we will all be feeling blocked somewhere. <br /><br />The way through this tangle (<i>since the Sun is in practical Virgo</i>) is working with whatever is right in front of us in the current moment.<br /><br />Don't look too far ahead or too far back. Saturn likes things to stay exactly as they are, but that opportunistic sextile between Uranus and the Moon today tells us something new needs to happen here. The square makes any move challenging since we are between a rock and a hard place. Just do your Virgo and get through the briar-patch - small, practical steps, focus on quality, don't get caught up in a 'perfectionist/criticism/mired in the details' trap. Keep moving. Do your best. If you don't know what to do - there is probably some weeds to be pulled or dishes to be washed <i>somewhere.&nbsp;</i><br /><br /><i>Doing something for someone else (very Virgo-like) can help bring us out of any depressive funk - Saturn can be heavy-duty. Of course, if this over-doing is part of the tension, this would be the thing to ease up on a bit. Virgo also rules our health - if this is the space we are hitting the wall - take things seriously. Make the difficult changes. Do it one step at a time. </i><br /><i><br /></i>Tomorrow, we have Venus crossing the North Node - she is on a roll people! Whatever it is we are doing to bring more beauty to the world is ripe for a BIG PUSH in the right direction.<br /><br />xo all<br /><i></i><br /><br />Catherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-61981316521337002412017-09-12T07:52:00.000-04:002017-09-12T09:54:31.476-04:00Venus Trine Saturn | commitment, investing for the long haul - Rome wasn't built in a day, attracting the stuff that lasts, mentors and muses show up<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3VshATCnKZY/WbfI0Tux8-I/AAAAAAAAOfI/XMnQYvhowyEzBIEUN-YvEJpf4u-KKK60ACLcBGAs/s1600/like_stars_on_your_skin_by_andrea_h-d3aya0p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="650" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3VshATCnKZY/WbfI0Tux8-I/AAAAAAAAOfI/XMnQYvhowyEzBIEUN-YvEJpf4u-KKK60ACLcBGAs/s640/like_stars_on_your_skin_by_andrea_h-d3aya0p.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lukreszja.deviantart.com/art/like-stars-on-your-skin-199793977">like stars on your skin by quadratiges</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Today, we have Venus (<i>in Leo</i>) trining Saturn (<i>in Sagittarius</i>) at 21 degrees. This has been within orb for a couple days and will continue to be within orb for a couple more when Venus finally pulls away from the old slow poke. It's strongest today though.<br /><br />Venus rules love, money, our values, women, beauty, our self-esteem (<i>Libra and Taurus</i>) and in Leo, ruler of our 5th house, concerned with romance, creative work, fun, recreation, children. Saturn rules structure and things that are real and have weight, time, goals, hard work, discipline, fathers, older men and responsibility (<i>Capricorn</i>) and in Sagittarius, ruler of our 9th house, concerned with higher education, travel, the things, the people and the places that are foreign to us, legal issues, politics, the media, weddings, higher thinking and religion. Trines create smooth energy - the brakes are off - the vitality will flow and work together <i>naturally</i>.<br /><br />This trine will apply to our natal Leo and Sagittarius houses (<i>21 degrees</i>) and their themes. <br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Now these houses are <i>always</i> in trine, but today, inhabited by attractive Venus and hard-working Saturn, the vibes are particularly </span><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">useful</span>.</i><br /><br /><i>For me, this is about my 10th house (21 Leo) and my 1st house (21 Sag). So good energy for my (10th house) career, business, the way I show up in the world, my visibility - to support and jive with my (1st house) physical self, name, brand, image. A good time to make a bigger commitment with this stuff.</i><br /><br />We could make a commitment (<i>Saturn</i>) within a relationship (<i>Venus</i>) now. We could make a commitment with our money. We could make a commitment to valuing ourselves. We could commit to the hard work of being more beautiful (<i>ie Venusian</i>) or birthing something beautiful. We could beautify (<i>Venus</i>) our career (<i>Saturn</i>). This would be a great time for cosmetic changes within a business. Spruce ups now will pay off over time.<br /><br />Venus/Saturn is not going to be about developing some trendy thingamajig because with Saturn the payoff comes over <i>time</i> and our trendy thingamajig will be gathering cobwebs in the corner. For creators this isn't so much about new styles as new <i>methods. </i>Both form (<i>Venus</i>) AND function (<i>Saturn</i>) will matter here. People will be drawn to more traditional, quality items that will last. Venus/Saturn will only be together for a couple more days, but this is the card to play now. &nbsp; <br /><br />Our existing relationships can grow stronger. There is a mutual <i>respect</i> here. Relationships between people of different ages started now would likely be <i>long-lasting. </i>Fire signs could be especially ready to settle down (<i>Aries, Leo, Sag</i>). *<br /><br /><b>Mentors (Saturn) and muses (Venus) can show up.&nbsp;</b><br /><br />When dealing with authority (<i>Saturn</i>), pulled over for speeding for example, it can't hurt to show them some respect (<i>Leo</i>) ... and maybe a little leg (<i>Venus</i>). When channeling Venus in Leo it is best to be <i>unafraid to be noticed</i> - spider veins and cellulite be damned, our legs are coming out!<br /><br />(<i>Many years ago someone was talking about cellulite and hubs said "Catherine, doesn't have any cellulite". Later I asked him why he said that, since it wasn't true, and he said, "hmm, well what the hell <b>is</b> cellulite?" I think he thought it had something to do with poor phone reception.</i>)<br />&nbsp; <br />If Venus and Saturn were people they would be a young, loving, attractive woman and a serious, responsible older man. You can see how these two people could bring out the best in each other (<i>not in a sugar-daddy kind of way</i> - <i>Saturn ain't nobody's free ride</i>).<br /><br />We carry both these archetypes <i>within us</i> - what can we do today to <b>cement their merger</b>?<br /><br />ALSO NOTE - our fast-moving, multi-tasking Gemini Moon is challenged by both Mars and Neptune today.<br /><br />Numerous <i>distractions </i>are likely. Stay focused on what your heart wants. With Venus stabilized by Saturn and within orb of the North Node in Leo ... our heart's desire (<i>what you seek is seeking you ... Rumi</i> <i>or in astro speak, "what's in your heart is in your chart</i>") is quickly catching up with us and much closer than it appears ... time to check that rearview mirror.<br /><br />Check the weekly <a href="http://olivebites.blogspot.com/2017/09/astrology-forecast-for-creatives-week.html">HERE</a> for more info. <br /><br />xo all<br /><br />* A few words about this "settling down" thing. I have a friend who lived with a man for 12 years. They didn't want children, but she wanted to marry. He was always firm that he would never marry. Then one summer during responsible Saturn's transit of his 7th house (<i>partnership</i>) and her 2nd (<i>values, self-esteem</i>) she drew an equally firm line in the sand. They married within weeks.<br /><br />All was well for about a New York minute and then ... <i>everything</i> changed, it all felt like work (<i>her words here</i>). He started to feel like her <i>father</i> even though they were close in age. She couldn't figure out what the hell had happened.<br /><br />Saturn transits grow us up. And the things we commit to during Saturn transits will not be easily discarded. She <i>needed</i> to draw a line in the sand. And he <i>needed</i> to commit. They loved each other, but had suddenly become each other's ball and chain (<i>Saturn!</i>). Ack!<br /><br />Now this guy has a very challenged 7th house - multiple tense aspects and a very beneficial 5th house. So when my friend moved from 5th house (<i>girlfriend, romance, fun</i>) to 7th house (<i>partner</i>) she stepped right into all these strained spaces he was learning about through his dealings with equal partners. And he stepped into her equally tricky 2nd house self-esteem issues. <br /><br />She now says she thinks all she really wanted was, "the respect of not being someone's <i>girlfriend</i>" and she wishes things were back as they were before. Saturn rules time and Saturnian commitments often have a "before and after" feel to them. There is no going back. They both stepped up to the plate to play a bigger game. They moved from the minors into the majors and will need some time to find a new rhythm. The good news with Saturn is that time is always on our side .... Catherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-15859254693677834052017-09-11T08:03:00.000-04:002017-09-12T10:01:15.398-04:00Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of September 11, 2017 - moth meet flame, rushing just creates more lack, know when to shut the hell up, a dragon in our path could be a dragon, could be a fire extinguisher <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1-NBUJ-dxFI/WbZ3Y0nVU5I/AAAAAAAAOe4/bk9ceuQW6Bc6-sxkRu8tSe91Xz2iJCuggCLcBGAs/s1600/runaway__by_lukreszja-d3lae39.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="651" data-original-width="755" height="550" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1-NBUJ-dxFI/WbZ3Y0nVU5I/AAAAAAAAOe4/bk9ceuQW6Bc6-sxkRu8tSe91Xz2iJCuggCLcBGAs/s640/runaway__by_lukreszja-d3lae39.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://paintedpoppy.deviantart.com/art/Runaway-217155285">Runaway by Lukreszja</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />We know whenever the work week includes the complete Gemini Moon cycle it is going to be busy and we have other stuff happening that looks <i>busy</i>, too.<br /><br /><b>Rushing doesn't seem to get us anywhere faster though.</b><br /><br />Remember we have had, through a strange set of circumstances, Mercury traveling with Mars for weeks and we still have one more week of this. This is fast moving energy and can lead to arguments and accidents. People will continue to be quicker to speak out, quicker to be annoyed and will speak out more forcibly.<br /><br />The flow of information and daily tasks has been challenging to keep up with. Customers/clients can be irritable and want things done yesterday. Good advice (<i>yes, from grandma</i>) if you can't say something nice about someone, well then just shut the hell up (<i>yes, my grandma was from New Jersey</i>).<br /><br />The Course in Miracles teaches we have two ways we can respond - through love or through fear. Love knows when to shut up. This can be the harder, higher ground. Fear requires little regulation of ourselves as we blather out something to eradicate our anxiety or cement our identity. <b>Let's choose the higher ground this week. </b><br /><br />All the chaotic energy that is trampling on Mother Earth's body is trampling ours, too.<br /><br />There are multiple situations converging, but the Mars/Mercury piece of the puzzle (<i>just a few more days of this one!</i>) is impacting our liver (<i>perfect storm for something like a bladder infection or digestive issues</i>), stomach/solar plexus (<i>2nd chakra</i>).<br /><br />This chakra is super impacted by Neptune's stomach churning storms (<i>Solar Eclipse plus Pisces Full Moon ruled by Neptune and conjunct Neptune</i>), Leo's fires (<i>Grand Fire Trine, Eclipse, more anxiety!</i>), dis-empowering lies and the media blasting "catastrophe" at us 24 hours a day. This chakra really needs healthy boundaries. If we are feeling something like "I can't digest all this information" or "I have lost my center" or the feeling that our gut instincts are letting us down - it's time to reset our boundaries here. <br /><br />(<i>and on the flip-side some people's boundaries are drawn so tight - we can be so sure we are right and that what we believe is TRUE - that tightness and rigidity creates similar issues with an out-of-balance 2nd chakra</i>.<i> I know someone who can literally only eat three different foods</i>.)<br /><br />Life on planet Earth is not for sissies folks.<br /><br />Flipping that pancake and checking out the positive side (<i>yes, that will be the side with the most visible blueberries</i>)- Mercury/Mars, now that both are in Virgo and moving forward, is good energy for learning and applying our skills - not bad energy for back-to-school if the teachers can keep the kids from bickering and in their seats! <br /><br />On <b>MONDAY</b>, the Moon will be void until 3:29PM EDT. This is not a good time to start anything new if we want something to come of it <i>(so if you are filing a late tax return or something you want 'nothing to come of' this would be a green light</i>).<br /><br />Even void the Taurus Moon (<i>ruler of our resources</i>) and the Virgo Sun (<i>ruler of work and service</i>) can get <i>alot</i> done. <b>Work efficiently with what you already have</b>.<br /><br />After the void, the Moon enters communicative and multi-tasking Gemini squaring Mercury (<i>Gemini's ruler</i>) and Mars. This would <i>not</i> be a good time for any kind of challenging conversation because people can be testy and words sharper than we intended. <b>We could say/do things in haste that we might regret later.</b> Try to avoid rushing - especially if you are a fire sign - Aries, Leo or Sagittarius. Good timing if a hard-headed (<i>hopefully not heart-less, remember that North Node in Leo</i>), strategic game plan needs to be announced/implemented, but not everyone is going to like it.<br /><br />Jupiter (<i>in Libra</i>) is trining (<i>brakes off</i>) the South Node in Aquarius. This could be a smooth/simple opportunity to interject something Aquarian into a group or social situation. Maybe it's our freak flag - whatever makes us uniquely ourselves. Something quirky, new and innovating (<i>or rebellious - Aquarius is that, too, of course</i>) creates expansion and "luck" now. Since we are talking about the South Node of what we are releasing, we could be stepping away from something that is "distracting or distancing" ourselves from others (<i>technology? many people are without electricity right now</i>). We get lucky by getting involved and being ourselves - just keep in mind that Mercury and Mars are squaring the Moon and take your time, know when to shut the hell up.<br /><br />On <b>TUESDAY</b>, Venus (<i>in Leo</i>) is trining (<i>brakes off</i>) Saturn (<i>in Sagittarius</i>). This is excellent energy for manifesting into physical form (<i>Saturn</i>) what we want (<i>Venus</i>). <b>This energy is in play all week. </b>This is still Saturn so results come through work and time, but they <i>do</i> come. The investments we make now (<i>love, money, what we already have, women, beauty, self-esteem, values</i>) can pay off later. We can also see the results of our prior labors this week and next.<br /><br />On <b>WEDNESDAY</b>, the fly in the ointment (<i>damn flies</i>) to yesterday's exact Venus/Saturn trine is today's Sun square Saturn. This could take us back to something started when the Sun met up with Saturn back in December. With the Sun ruling the Leo North Node of our collective way forward AND our HEART this <b>obstacle</b>/restriction/wall is actually a positive. In both the same way all obstacles are positive in the end when we look back at what we have <i>learned </i>and in the sense, at this particular time in our history with the collective way forward about following our HEART - whatever stands in the path of <i>that</i> will need to be dealt with.<br /><br />For now it might look like a fire breathing dragon. And in fact it could be an actual fire breathing dragon, but it could be the dragon that will lead us directly to the acquisition of the fire extinguisher that we will need moving forward. Whatever we use - skill, resources, etc - to get around or over this thing is going to be needed later on, too. We have the Sun in Virgo and Virgo loves to <i>make</i> something. We might have to build it as we go. <br /><br />Any tension or challenges now that come up are part of the process that gets all of us to a happier space. Yes, we will have to deal with whatever comes up now, but life is magical and we get the square at precisely the right time - Virgo season! - so we'll use that Virgo Sun to fix what needs fixing here. It doesn't have to be a perfect fix and it won't be some big, splashy thingamajig. Virgo rules the small, practical steps that are <i>helpful.</i> Work small with whatever is challenging while keeping your heart (<i>North Node Leo</i>) firmly fixated on what you WANT (<i>that Venus!</i>).<br /><br />The Moon goes void at 2:35PM EDT. <br /><br />On <b>THURSDAY</b>, Venus (<i>still in fiery Leo and approaching the eclipse degree next week - that's when the benefits of that monster Solar Eclipse will become more visible</i>) meets up with the North Node of our collective destiny. Pay attention to what comes to your attention now. Maybe a woman comes into your life and moves your whole story forward somehow. This is the energy for desire (<i>Venus</i>) to meet up with whatever it takes to make the desire come true. <b>Moth meet flame</b>. We'll talk more about Venus's journey this week in the dailies including a sextile (<i>opportunity</i>) with big-time opportunity maker Jupiter on <b>FRIDAY</b>. <br /><br />Lots more to write about including Mars and Mercury's final exact conjunction on Saturday, but I am out of time this morning. I have a largish store order to get to and another store owner who wants a face-to-face skype - which means I have to think about what my own face looks like this morning. Which reminds me with all this Venus we will want to be looking our best this week (<i>and next week</i>). It will make us more attractive - ie more able to attract what we want.<br /><br />Venus loves all the lace and polish and we want her on our team now. We will be a stronger channel for our favorite muse's energy if we take a little extra care with ourselves.<br /><br />xo allCatherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-7874302323406020342017-09-09T08:10:00.001-04:002017-09-09T14:08:52.796-04:00Today's Astrological Weather Report - handcut carrots, small tweaks adjust BIG things, practical language, the audience goes home<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VbiH0x0LZA0/WbPYmQgeS8I/AAAAAAAAOek/p0yiWXF9ls0f-5DxEn9FVkSmUhpeuwINQCLcBGAs/s1600/south_wind_by_paintedpoppy-d3kunj5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="800" height="424" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VbiH0x0LZA0/WbPYmQgeS8I/AAAAAAAAOek/p0yiWXF9ls0f-5DxEn9FVkSmUhpeuwINQCLcBGAs/s640/south_wind_by_paintedpoppy-d3kunj5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://birdy-7.deviantart.com/art/South-wind-216421025">South wind by painted poppy</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Today, we have the Sun (<i>in Virgo</i>) trining (<i>brakes off</i>) Pluto (<i>retrograde</i> <i>in Capricorn</i>), Mars (<i>action, initiative, passion, anger</i>) changing signs from fiery Leo into stable Virgo and Venus (<i>in Leo</i>) inconjunct Pluto. The Moon is waxing in Aries this morning and moves into Taurus at 12:23 EDT (after a short void around lunchtime). The Moon is exalted in Taurus - the sign of prosperity and ruler of our <i>resources</i>.<br /><br />First, <b>let's look at Mercury</b>.<br /><br />You might remember he moved into Virgo on July 25th before reversing course and traveling back through Leo. <b>So, now we are kind of back where we were then,</b> but with a clearer grasp on whatever information/facts we need to be grasping to move ahead. We are older and wiser now. The retrograde forced us to deal with delays, to take another look at something, to ask the right questions, to revise, to review, to <i>reconsider</i> - and now we have the results/the decision/the info we need. It won't get much clearer than this.<br /><br />Retrogrades force our hand with this stuff. They can't always force us to use what we have learned, but let's face it - if we were planning to do X, and, during the last few weeks learned Y and Z that impact X, we would be a fool not to use what we have discovered/learned as we move forward. So we will.<br /><br />Mercury (<i>communication, thinking, ideas, local neighborhood, siblings, transportation</i>) is quite happy to be back in Virgo - a sign he<i> rules. </i><br /><br />In Virgo, our thinking, writing and communication will be more practical and commonsense. We will be all about the <i>details. </i>Nothing gets by Mercury in Virgo.&nbsp; But lots of things get <i>dismissed. </i>If it's not real, if it doesn't work - it's gone. This is an excellent transit for organization, cleaning, paperwork, working on the tedious trivia we have overlooked during Mercury's days in star-studded Leo. The curtain gets drawn, the crowds go home, the star of the stage (us!) hones his craft without an audience, without applause. This is the work that gets done right because it needs to be done right. This is also excellent service energy - for taking care of our health, for taking care of other people, for taking care of our animals.<br /><br />The Virgo house in your natal chart gets a visit from active Mercury - this is where the solutions will be. This is where we can drill down the details and become more <i>efficient. </i><br /><br />This is where we will be walking our talk. <i><br /></i><br /><div id="yui_3_17_2_40_1450968827300_6193">The shadow side of Mercury during this transit<i> (through September 29th when he moves into Libra - note he will start covering entirely new ground in Virgo on September 19th) </i>is that we can't always see the forest for the trees. We might get so caught up in the details the big picture gets away from us. We could forget/lose sight of why we are doing the thing we are doing in the first place. <i>Or</i> we get so caught up in something being so perfect, that it never gets finished. <i>Or</i> we pare something down so much that in the end we end up with nothing .... keep an eye (<i>yes, we need three eyes now!</i>) out for this stuff.</div><div id="yui_3_17_2_40_1450968827300_6193"><br /></div><div id="yui_3_17_2_40_1450968827300_6193"><b>The big news today is the perfection of the trine between the Sun and Pluto. </b></div><div id="yui_3_17_2_40_1450968827300_6193"><br /></div><div id="yui_3_17_2_40_1450968827300_6193">This is an aspect we don't want to waste. Here is where a precise adjustment (<i>Sun in Virgo</i>) creates career/place in the outer world opportunities (<i>Pluto in Capricorn</i>). A tweak to our day-to-day activities or work routine (or diet/health routine! or some regimen with our pets!) STARTED NOW is very powerful. We have to do what is right for other people here, too, because our Virgo Sun rules service - we can't take more than our fair share or cop out on something that is necessary.&nbsp;</div><div id="yui_3_17_2_40_1450968827300_6193"><br /></div><div id="yui_3_17_2_40_1450968827300_6193">POWER comes through the details now. Use this transit to set up an improved schedule. Prioritize. <b>Do the most important thing first. </b>Take a look at the houses in your natal chart this trine is impacting (<b>your Capricorn and Virgo houses</b>) - there is an increased opportunity for these houses to work together now. Trines are easy to miss because things fall into place easily. Note where this is already happening. Help it along with <b>increased efficiency toward what we are passionate about!</b></div><br />The fly in the ointment with this and yes, there is always a damn fly in the ointment. Maybe without the fly there would be no ointment!<br /><br />We have Venus (<i>love, money, women, beauty, our values, our self-esteem</i>) inconjunct (<i>something not solvable here</i>) the same career/place in the outer world/authority Pluto.<br /><br />It looks like something we want (<i>Venus</i>) won't happen quite the way we want it to. Or maybe a situation with a woman isn't working out. Love/money can be tricky. To the extent we are not valuing the right stuff the support won't be there. Whatever this is, it will impact this final leg of our Pluto story which started when Pluto met up with the Sun back in early January.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">The trine with Virgo though tells us the way through this is to do our Virgo.</span><br /><br />Cross our t's and dot our i's. Do what is right in front of us. Clean up the mess. Share. Put one foot in front of the other now. Eat right. Go for a walk. There won't be any shortcuts, but we won't need them because with Pluto answering to Saturn - whatever it is we are building it is going to be sticking around for a long time ...<br /><br />xo all<br /><br />Enjoy that Taurus Moon this afternoon - take comfort in what really matters. Get out in nature (Ack - I am writing a post for tomorrow about the crazy weather!). Get your hands in the dirt. Balance your checkbook. Get a massage. Cut the vegetables with a knife, not one of those fancy electric choppers. You get the idea.Catherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-33268109733205934182017-09-08T09:34:00.002-04:002017-09-09T14:11:39.618-04:00Today's Astrological Weather Report - peacocks strutting their stuff, something about not trying so hard, imperial ambitions and alpha dogs going at it plus an empty nest "no one needs my homemade cookies anymore" sniffle<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XDgZy4RBw4I/WbKZFjoshrI/AAAAAAAAOeU/h9ARaLqD0vwzbNU6p2vuQbri1T1VbaQLwCLcBGAs/s1600/insecure_by_birdy_7-d5heqck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="404" data-original-width="639" height="404" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XDgZy4RBw4I/WbKZFjoshrI/AAAAAAAAOeU/h9ARaLqD0vwzbNU6p2vuQbri1T1VbaQLwCLcBGAs/s640/insecure_by_birdy_7-d5heqck.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://dorottyas.deviantart.com/art/Insecure-331571684">Insecure by Birdy-7</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />Today we have the Moon in fiery, independent Aries. Trining Venus (<i>love, money, women</i>) in Leo this morning making it a good time to <b>push (<i>the Moon is answering Mars today!</i>) for something close to our heart</b> that we started working on/dealing with <i>before</i> the end of July when Mercury went retrograde - remember Mercury is walking old territory until September 19th.<br /><br />This energy is good for strong females who want to be noticed ... hmmm :)<br /><br />It's also good for independent action.<br /><br />By lunchtime, the Venus trine is fading out (<i>dammit, I want my spotlight!</i>) as the Moon moves into a square with Pluto (<i>in Capricorn</i>) AND Mars - in possibly today's biggest aspect - a sesquiquadrate with Pluto (<i>yes, that's a word</i>).<br /><br />That's alot of Pluto. And since Pluto is in Capricorn, that's alot of Capricorn.<br /><br />This will likely direct our action, emotions and possibly our <i>anger</i> at Capricornian thingamajigs - Cappy people, serious people, fathers, our career, authority, limits, rules, time constraints, security, safety, physical things we can touch, walls, things that can't be <i>moved</i>.<br /><br />Pluto will always beat Mars in an arm wrestling contest, so this is good energy to find out who is really in charge. Battles for dominance and power are likely. It looks especially treacherous ground for the earth signs - Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn - to slug it out.<br /><br />On the other hand somebody has to come out on top. Note - it will probably be whoever started out there .... <br /><br />With Pluto there is always the possibility of destruction. We will be holding a hammer so everything might look like a nail. Or maybe someone else is holding a sledgehammer. Either way the good news is with Pluto there is always the potential for the destruction to lead to rebirth. Things/people/relationships can, and often do, come back better and stronger after a Pluto whomping. Or they end up six feet under. There is rarely an in between. Keep this in mind.<br /><br />Another aspect perfecting today - is Ceres (<i>in Cancer</i>) inconjunct the South Node (<i>in Aquarius</i>).<br /><br />I have been feeling this one and went looking through today's chart to see what it was. With perfect timing as always (<i>kids going off to school although that's not my story now</i>) the universe offers up an "empty nest", "miss the good old days when I was taken care of or when I took care of something/someone" transit.<br /><br />There is "mothering/smothering", "nurturing", "sustenance" that is <b>no longer needed</b>. Maybe it has been outgrown entirely or maybe we just need to find a new way of doing it because the seasons (<i>of life or the year</i>) have changed.<br /><br />With the South Node involved we know something is <i>leaving</i>. With Aquarius involved we know the ending/release is <i>liberating. </i>Whatever is happening will be a big deal to us to the extent our past includes issues of separation and insecurity (<i>and whose doesn't!</i>). And the extent 24 degrees Cancer or Aquarius - or thereabouts - might factor into our natal or progressed charts. <br /><br />We'll work through this. Maybe we need to mother ourselves now!<br /><br />If you have some choices about what you are doing today - and you do! - remember it is Virgo season. We are going to have an even greater heap of Virgo to work with/deal with over the next couple weeks, so it's good to <i>embrace</i> it.<br /><br />Let's focus on what is right in front of us. Clean stuff up. Get organized. All this Pluto today makes it a good day for purging and recycling, plus the Moon in <i>waning. </i>Take care of the details now. Know when good enough is good enough.<br /><br />With Mercury heading back into Virgo (<i>moving forward</i>) it is best to say what needs to be said and then drop the matter. Too many directions, extra words, etc, will be taken as criticisms ... even though we are thinking we just want something done right. Let's go easy on others, who don't have the benefit of astrology that we do, when they seem to be criticizing <i>us</i>. Isn't it possible they just want things done right/to go right, too? <b>&nbsp;</b><br /><br /><b>Best to talk about what you know for sure NOT what you are worried about that hasn't even happened yet. </b>This is probably always good advice. Make a bumper sticker. But don't forget to credit your grandma. She probably said it first. xo allCatherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-61470510762598445772017-09-06T05:36:00.004-04:002017-09-06T06:59:14.889-04:00Full Moon in Pisces | the mystical, watery dreamer's moon - seeing what we want to see<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g2a8B5u3IuA/Wa-7jTONu9I/AAAAAAAAOeE/TtOzPnls9AEQYfpuivIREX7J1pxgDTDMwCLcBGAs/s1600/tree_of_life_by_dani_owergoor-dahr8dv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g2a8B5u3IuA/Wa-7jTONu9I/AAAAAAAAOeE/TtOzPnls9AEQYfpuivIREX7J1pxgDTDMwCLcBGAs/s640/tree_of_life_by_dani_owergoor-dahr8dv.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.deviantart.com/art/Tree-Of-Life-634485811">Tree Of Life by Dani-Owergoor</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />You have probably noticed the Moon appearing larger and fuller over the last few days as we've approached this morning's Full Moon in Pisces. I hope you have been able to get out and walk in it!<br /><br />With the Sun at 13 degrees Virgo and the Moon at 13 degrees Pisces - anyone with planets or points around the middle degrees of the mutable signs - Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces - and people with planets or points around the middle degrees of the water signs - Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces - will feel this Full Moon energy strongest.<br /><br />Check your natal and progressed charts (astro.com). <br /><br />Today's Full Moon is conjunct a retrograde Neptune at 12 degrees Pisces and Neptune is the ruler of Pisces and so the ruler of this Full Moon - <b>its strength is GREATLY increased.</b> Neptune reflects the longing in us to lose our separateness and merge with the greater whole. It's our quest for Eden, the draw to return to the vanished magic of the womb - to God, to the source of life. It's about everything we can feel and nothing we can touch.<br /><br />With imaginative and illusory Neptune so strong now whatever is going on - coming to light, culminating, releasing - can be <i>beyond our wildest dreams.&nbsp;</i><br /><br />This can be a real thing or it can be a total delusion - smoke and mirrors.<br /><br />It might be hard to tell which is which. <b>We will see what we want to see now</b>, especially within our relationships with other people since Full Moons are times of Sun/Moon oppositions.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Something stirred up by the recent Solar Eclipse energy comes to light or culminates now.</span><br /><br />The Moon is also sextiling (<i>opportunity</i>) Pallas in Taurus. So, there is opportunity energy between our natal Pisces house and our natal Taurus house themes. Sextiles are the kind of opportunities that require some kind of <i>action. </i>Think about how you might be able to work with this.<br /><br />(<i>for example Pisces rules my 4th house of home and Taurus my 7th house of partnership, so an opportunity for me to take action, and meet with success, combining these two themes</i>)<br /><i></i><br />Pisces rules the 12th house of what is hidden and put away, the ways we self-sabotage, escape, our addictions, our imagination, lack of boundaries, connection, compassion, charity, hospitals, prisons, the things we do last, the things we have forgotten, our distant pasts, water, sleep, illness, healing, spirituality .... <br /><br />Our Piscean spaces (<i>the roles we play and the roles we have rejected within ourselves and passed out to other people to act out for us</i>) will be on full display. Dreamers will dream. Escapists will run away. Victims and martyrs will play out some endless saga we will all have to hear about. Saviors will march into action. <b>Seekers will look within.</b> Artists will make art. Drifters will drift off course. Anyone whose boat is only lightly tethered to the dock will be pulled out to sea ...<br /><br />Maybe a whole lot of people could just feel like giving up.<br /><br />The invitation to regress, to have permission to suspend the hard work of critical thinking/doing, to indulge "poor me", can be mightily seductive in Pisces. We need to be especially gentle with ourselves and others now. <br /><br />It will be best to seek to balance the Virgo/Pisces polarity (warning shameless plug ahead - have you seen my Polarity Lockets <b><a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/polarity">HERE</a></b> - I am having a rare sale) through some combination of <b>imagination (Pisces) and practicality (Virgo)</b> with whatever we are dealing/working with.<br /><br /><b>Know that things that look too good to be true now ARE too good to be true.</b> This doesn't mean the whole thing is necessarily a total tosser though, use the Virgo Sun to see what is really going on. <br /><br />We can ask ourselves - what is our big pie-in-the-sky Piscean dream? How can channeling our inner Virgo and breaking it down into practical, doable slices help make our dream come true?<br /><br />AND in what ways is life feeling tense and stressed because of a pressure to do something just right or to have something show up in a very specific way? How can channeling our inner Pisces help us let go of the specific version of the way something has to be, or how perfect it needs to be or any need to micro-manage the process - go with the flow and allow ourselves to trust that life really does have our back, now and always?<br /><br />Neptune is a trans-personal planet ruling the collective - it rules the realms where we are all connected and there are no boundaries between us (<i>one of the reasons since "like cures like" that connection is the most powerful tool to aid addiction</i>). And just as our dreamy Pisces Moon reaches its peak, Trump, whose 12th house has been on fire for weeks with that 28 degree Leo, announces an end to DACA (<i>the dreamers program</i>) .... hopefully Congress - with the help/push of the American people and the people who want to be American people - will use practical Virgo and idealistic Pisces to make this all work out.<br /><br />For today - get your body into water (<i>this is good advice for all week!</i>), get rid of something/give it away/clear it out - we are FULL UP, too, and it is good practice to make some room for something <i>else </i>at this time of the month. Get out and walk in the Full Moon energy. See what opens up. It is magical!<br /><br />Make art. Write a poem. Journal. This week has some crazy long Void Moons, too - we might really need some extra rest now (<i>written at 4:44AM since I can't sleep - ack!</i>). Give yourself permission to take a time-out if you need it. Take a nap. Thin boundaries make it easier to catch colds and things from each other (also bad moods!) so take some extra Vitamin C or whatever works best for you.<br /><br />Our intuition will be strong, but we could pick up the wrong signal and there are other energies at play advising us to be cautious now - not guarded exactly, but it's certainly NOT the time for any big decisions.<br /><br />Make the time to meditate today - truly this is the best use of the energy. <b>The portals between yourself and yourself are wide open. </b><br /><br />xo all<br /><br />(see yesterday's post <a href="http://olivebites.blogspot.com/2017/09/mercury-stations-direct-mars-into-virgo.html">HERE</a> for more details on this Moon - and take this breather today because the end of the week is going to see more KABOOM energy with the Aries Moon again clashing with Pluto! Also the Moon goes void at 4:30PM EDT today and stays void until 8AM EDT tomorrow morning - the longest we've seen in a long time.) <br /><b> </b>Catherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-69708921393265390392017-09-05T08:17:00.002-04:002017-09-05T12:24:46.220-04:00Mercury Stations Direct, Mars Into Virgo, Sun Opposes Neptune | BIG ENERGY, take your time <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xwOf5dlO85U/Wa6WBEVYHVI/AAAAAAAAOdw/5wjdcAGe-Ysmef55dyi2d_kPnFwZj17_wCLcBGAs/s1600/listen_to_your_heart___heart_22_by_dorottyas-d5cqthr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xwOf5dlO85U/Wa6WBEVYHVI/AAAAAAAAOdw/5wjdcAGe-Ysmef55dyi2d_kPnFwZj17_wCLcBGAs/s640/listen_to_your_heart___heart_22_by_dorottyas-d5cqthr.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://dorottyas.deviantart.com/art/Listen-to-your-heart-Heart-22-323737551">listen to your heart by dorottyas</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />There is alot happening in the skies today!<br /><br /><b>Mercury stations direct</b> at the big Solar Eclipse activation point of 28 degrees Leo. <b>Mars moves </b>from fiery Leo <b>into practical and precise Virgo.</b> <b>And the Sun (<i>in Virgo</i>) opposes Neptune</b> (<i>in Pisces</i>) at 12 degrees.<br /><br />Let's look at Mercury direct first.<br /><br />Happening at the exact degree of the Solar Eclipse, our Eclipse stories move forward now. <b>We have all the facts we need</b> - we may not know everything, but we know what we need to know. We know enough to take practical and precise action (<i>Mars into Virgo</i>).<br /><br />With Virgo, there has to be a plan. Things must be done in a piece by piece, step by step manner. It is a great gift to us for all of this to end in Virgo, believe me. <br /><br />During the last few weeks we have been back over the Leo part (<i>the theme of our natal Leo house, the creative project, the children, the romance, the recreation</i>) AND the Virgo part (<i>the theme of our natal Virgo house, the day-to-day activities, health issues, job issues, the practical details of something</i>).<br /><br />Maybe we've had a rip-roaring fight, maybe we haven't (<i>that energy is still in play</i>).<br /><br />Now as Mercury stations to move forward - and we know how powerful Mercury is at stations we've seen multiple terrorist/vehicle events in the days around this energy peak, so <b>take care now</b> - there is a shift that moves us forward, too.<br /><br />This has been a very challenging Mercury retrograde. I think we'll all be glad to see it in our rearview mirror! Note- Mercury will be covering old ground until September 19th, so action on things in play BEFORE late July is still favored. <br /><br />With Mars (<i>our action. initiative, passion, anger</i>) changing signs at the same time we know our movement forward is best done in a <b>Virgo manner.</b> This means practical, precise steps focused on what is right in front of us. Mars in Virgo can be excellent for productivity and it can also run entirely off course with perfectionism.<br /><br />The good things about Mars in Virgo is our ability to organize, to be productive, to focus on the details and what needs doing right <i>now</i>; the next step. Since Virgo is a service sign, the actions we take that help us will most naturally help other people. Mars in Virgo can really clean up the mess and improve the situation. The wheat is separated from the chaff - yes maybe rather ruthlessly, this is Mars we are talking about. But in the end we are left with the wheat (<i>I think - I am not really sure I need to ask a grain farmer or google</i>) or whatever it is we need to grow the wheat. Either way the superfluous stuff is gone.<br /><br />On the other hand if we let fiery Mars get out of control in pious Virgo territory we could have a bigger mess on our hands even though everything <i>looks </i>all clean and sparkly. Mars can get very pissed off here if everything doesn't meet his exacting standards of perfection. So let's not go there. We could find ourselves taking action toward some quite impossible something or other. If everything has to fall precisely into place for something to work out - well, Mars in Virgo is the man for the job - on the other hand he doesn't see the big picture - just the details right in front of him - and can toil rather tirelessly with not much to show<br /><br />(<i>of course this 'not much to show' thing isn't taking into account the muscles we are building and experience for next time, let's not discount it</i>, <i>sometimes without the things that don't work out we would never get to the things that do</i>).<br /><br />If we find ourselves, or someone else, demanding an impossible to meet goal or impossibly high standards of perfection we will know we have veered off course here. Mars has run amok. <br /><br />So, we have Mercury (<i>words, ideas, communications</i>) moving forward. And Mars in focused and practical (<i>also service oriented</i>) Virgo - we are no longer going to be just thinking about what we want/should do, we will no longer just be talking/communicating about it - we will be taking action.<br /><br />You will notice I am <b>not</b> saying full steam ahead. This is because we have one more piece of today's puzzle - we have the Sun (<i>our ego, our life force</i>) opposing dreamy, imaginative Neptune.<br /><br />So, although the urge to plow ahead will be strong this week - things might not be quite as they seem right now. We are building toward tomorrow's elusive, watery and mystical Full Moon in Pisces (<i>note - clear some time today and tomorrow, the bigger the chunk the better, for meditation and quiet time - the channels will be WIDE open</i>).<br /><br /><b>Don't sign on the dotted line just yet.</b> <br /><br />We might be telling ourselves something that isn't really true. Someone else might be telling us something inflated, too. This doesn't mean they are lying necessarily, although they might be - but with the Sun opposite Neptune we are susceptible to deception and confusion; to wearing rose colored glasses.<br /><br />If we find someone glossing over the truth or if something seems too good to be true (<i>or too bad to be true</i>), this is a RED ALERT to use that Mars in Virgo to filter out the deception and dig for facts. We don't want to move forward with a fantasy during Virgo season! <br /><br />If we still don't know what to do, do like Mercury and just stand still for a while longer.<br /><br />Actually, even if you are sure you know what to do (<i>and if you are I need your help pronto!</i>) first let's look inside - we are fast approaching that miraclulous Full Moon and it is full enough <b>right now</b> to be VERY illuminating. Pisces rules the 12th house of what is behind the scenes, put away, done behind our back, self-defeating.<br /><br />Let's see what the Full Moon brings to light. Neptune rules the seas and cannot be controlled - what is meant to flow in <i>or</i> out will be unstoppable. <br /><br />Meditation today and tomorrow, even if you never meditate and maybe especially if you never meditate, will be VERY effective to get clear. The Sun is shining a big, old spotlight on our inner life. We don't want to miss the chance to see it more clearly! <br /><br />Full Moon post coming tomorrow morning. Sorry I missed writing the weekly. Sully turned four and I never had enough time or focus to get it done. Today's energy pretty much sums up the week though and I will write dailies.<br /><br />If you are still waiting for news or info to come in, especially from events put into play before late July, your wait is almost over.<br /><br />xo all<br />hang in thereCatherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-42767585919147843972017-09-03T08:46:00.000-04:002017-09-03T10:18:18.733-04:00RED ALERT | Mars Conjunct Mercury at the Eclipse degree - fighting words, the courage to speak, part lll<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lbiDWLQB0Ok/Wav4znxbjgI/AAAAAAAAOdU/oF7pL0vv4eU1fh1XsW7XPlvniNkxIQUHACLcBGAs/s1600/inner_lion_by_dorottyas-d5yheuh.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lbiDWLQB0Ok/Wav4znxbjgI/AAAAAAAAOdU/oF7pL0vv4eU1fh1XsW7XPlvniNkxIQUHACLcBGAs/s640/inner_lion_by_dorottyas-d5yheuh.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.deviantart.com/art/Inner-lion-360250217">Inner lion by DorottyaS</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />To recap - the Solar Eclipse on August 21st set up a powerful event chart when the Sun and Moon met up at 28 degrees Leo. The chart's influence could extend for months.<br /><br />The faster moving planets, and in particular Mars - the planet of action and aggression - can act as "triggers" for Eclipse events as they hit these degrees.<br /><br /><b>Today we have Mercury (<i>retrograde and about to change direct on Tuesday - we've seen how powerful Mercury stations are with world events</i>) and Mars meeting up at the Solar Eclipse degree of 28 degrees Leo. </b><br /><br />Even without this meeting happening at such a powerful degree (<i>kind of like fighting on a minefield</i>) Mars and Mercury together are tricky energies to manage AND we still have that trine to "anything-can-happen" revolutionary Uranus in play.<br /><br /><b>The best use of this energy</b> - we have the courage (<i>Mars</i>) to say (<i>Mercury</i>) what needs to be said. Fresh ideas (<i>Mercury/Uranus</i>) allow us to initiate (<i>Mars</i>) something we can be proud of (<i>Leo</i>). Passionate (<i>Mars</i>) language/thinking (<i>Mercury</i>) changes (<i>Uranus</i>) the situation. Unexpected (<i>Uranus</i>) news (<i>Mercury</i>) encourages generous/optimistic (<i>Leo</i>) action (<i>Mars</i>). <br /><br /><b>The most challenging use of this energy</b> - our words (<i>Mercury</i>) result in a rip-roaring fight (<i>Mars</i>). Our speech (<i>Mercury</i>) could be harsh or self-centered (<i>Mars</i>). We could blurt out exactly the wrong thing at exactly the wrong time (<i>Uranus</i>). We could have an accident. Unexpected (<i>Uranus</i>) news (<i>Mercury</i>) starts a war (<i>Mars</i>). <br /><br />In Leo, things could get very dramatic and VERY LOUD.<br /><br />I am not going to advise to avoid challenging conversations or run and hide (<i>the North Node is in Leo, courage is required now</i>) because Eclipse events carry a large degree of fate with them - the argument may need to happen. The bad news may need to come out. On the other hand, we can use our astrology knowledge to prevent a nuclear meltdown. Keep a calm head. Choose your words carefully. Mars wants to go, go, go. Take a moment and think things through.<br /><br />And drive safely. <br /><br />xo all<br /><br /><br />Catherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-46085480818453411012017-09-02T10:48:00.001-04:002017-09-02T20:14:26.125-04:00RED Alert | part ll ... connecting our desire for change with our actions<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X5MHwTK6GDs/Waq_UHuLCLI/AAAAAAAAOdE/_IhC77JIup4_UKXAKYZOzDIZ5gXRZm-PACLcBGAs/s1600/discover_your_destination_by_edenamarga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="998" height="512" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X5MHwTK6GDs/Waq_UHuLCLI/AAAAAAAAOdE/_IhC77JIup4_UKXAKYZOzDIZ5gXRZm-PACLcBGAs/s640/discover_your_destination_by_edenamarga.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://autruchenoire.deviantart.com/art/Discover-your-destination-53212204">Discover your destination by m-topolska</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Today we have Mars moving through the eclipse degree of 28 Leo. He is trining (<i>brakes off</i>) Uranus in Aries and within one degree of a retrograde Mercury who he'll meet tomorrow. Mercury will be at 28 degrees Leo on Tuesday as he stations direct. <i>And</i> the day after Mercury stations we have a Full Moon in Pisces conjunct Neptune. Whew!<br /><br />Today's most exact aspect is Mars trining Uranus. We talked about this a bit yesterday.<br /><br />With our warrior planet Mars in brave and confident Leo (<i>at the powerful Eclipse degree of change, change, change!</i>) and connecting by trine (<i>releasing roadblocks and smooth transitions</i>) to revolutionary Uranus in independent Aries (<i>answering to Aries' ruler Mars</i>) this is excellent energy to<br /><br />1. truly express who we are - I am imagining women all over the world sitting in hair salons saying "cut it all off" or "dye these babies purple" - this aspect doesn't say we are going to like the outcome, just that we will feel the push to "go for it".<br /><br />2. release outdated roles and outgrown restrictions<br /><br /><b>Anything that feels even remotely like a cage or collar is going to feel way too <i>small</i>.&nbsp;</b><br /><br />3. make some kind of radical move, do (<i>Mars</i>) something different or differently (<i>Uranus</i>)<b> </b><br /><br />Now, the Moon goes void today at 12:30PM EDT until about 4PM <i>and</i> it's a Saturday <i>and</i> a holiday weekend here in the United States, so I am not sure what we can do productively with this today.<br /><br />I know someone who just quit a new job she worked hard to get after one little thing went wrong yesterday - not such a good use of this radical energy. People prone to radical moves or people whose "go-to"emotion is anger anyway could really muck this up. But we all could, so stay frosty.&nbsp; <br /><br />This is "shortcut" energy. Uranus can get us from here to there very quickly. And we have the courage and the strength to put something into action here. Something that tastes like authenticity. Something that tastes like freedom.<br /><br />Now, Mercury is still retrograde, so this isn't about leaping off tall buildings and this is also excellent energy to get into a rip roaring argument or ACCIDENT. Keep this in mind, too. <br /><br />Again this will be about our eclipse Leo houses. Do you know where 28 degrees Leo is in your natal chart? Check that house and your Sun, Rising signs. <br /><br /><b>ARIES</b> (Leo 5th house of creativity, children, romance, fun) - the trine with Uranus connects your desire for change or to take a risk with your <i>actions. </i>With a retrograde Mercury you will want to take a second look or have second thoughts or maybe you get a second chance at something going on with those 5th house themes. <b>Mercury's delays and Mars fiery clashes are intended to focus you on your most HEARTFELT path forward. </b>Events connect to the August 21st Full Moon Solar Eclipse.<br /><br /><b>TAURUS </b>(Leo 4th house - home, family, mother, real estate, renovation, home business, roots) - the trine with Uranus connects your desire for change with your <i>actions. </i>With a retrograde Mercury you will want to take a second look or have second thoughts or maybe you get a second chance at something going on with those 4th house themes. <b>Mercury's delays and Mars fiery passions are intended to focus you on your most HEARTFELT path forward. </b>Events connect to the August 21st Full Moon Solar Eclipse.<br /><br /><b>GEMINI</b> (Leo 3rd house - communications, conversations, teaching, writing, siblings, transportation, local community) the trine with Uranus connects your desire for change with your <i>actions. </i>With a retrograde Mercury you will want to take a second look or have second thoughts or maybe you get a second chance at something going on with those 3rd house themes. <b>Mercury's delays and Mars fiery passions are intended to focus you on your most HEARTFELT path forward. </b>Events connect to the August 21st Full Moon Solar Eclipse.<br /><br /><b>CANCER</b> (Leo 2nd house - money, values, personal resources, self-esteem) the trine with Uranus connects your desire for change with your <i>actions</i>. With a retrograde Mercury you will want to take a second look or have second thoughts or maybe you get a second chance at something going on with those 2nd house themes. <b>Mercury's delays and Mars fiery passions are intended to focus you on your most HEARTFELT path forward. </b>Events connect to the August 21st Full Moon Solar Eclipse.<br /><br /><b>LEO </b>(Leo 1st house - self, physical body, your life) the trine with Uranus connects your desire for change with your <i>action,</i> pushing you along a path you have probably been thinking about for a long time. Courage and risk-taking is required here. With a retrograde Mercury you will want to take a second look or have second thoughts or maybe you get a second chance at something going on with those 1st house themes. Maybe you relook at some old info and decide it could be possible now or finally decide to give something one more chance - this is YOUR life changing eclipse, it will be up to <i>you</i> to ask for what you want to make it work. <b>Mercury's delays and Mars fiery passions are intended to focus you on your most HEARTFELT path forward. </b>Events connect to the August 21st Full Moon Solar Eclipse.<br /><br /><b>VIRGO</b> (Leo 12th house - behind the scenes, escape, addiction, imagination, spirituality, intuition, delusion) the trine with Uranus connects your desire for change with your <i>actions,</i> this is likely about moving something private forward through help from background sources, your own gut feelings, etc. With this stuff happening in your 12th house whatever is meant to happen will happen, you won't have to push for it. Breaking away from self-sabotaging bad habits and the psychological stuff holding you back is happening at a deep level. Look inside. With a retrograde Mercury you will want to take a second look or have second thoughts or maybe you get a second chance at something going on with something private. <b>Mercury's delays and Mars fiery passions are intended to focus you on your most HEARTFELT path forward. </b>Events connect to the August 21st Full Moon Solar Eclipse.<br /><br /><b>LIBRA </b>(Leo 11th house - friends, hopes and dreams, internet, groups) the trine with Uranus connects your desire for change with your <i>actions. </i>With a retrograde Mercury you will want to take a second look or have second thoughts or maybe you get a second chance at something going on with those 11th house themes. <b>Mercury's delays and Mars fiery passions are intended to focus you on your most HEARTFELT path forward. </b>Events connect to the August 21st Full Moon Solar Eclipse.<br /><br /><b>SCORPIO</b> (Leo 10th house - career, public life, authority) the trine with Uranus connects your desire for change with your <i>actions. </i>With a retrograde Mercury you will want to take a second look or have second thoughts or maybe you get a second chance at something going on with those 10th house themes. <b>Mercury's delays and Mars fiery passions are intended to focus you on your most HEARTFELT path forward. </b>Events connect to the August 21st Full Moon Solar Eclipse.<br /><br /><b>SAGITTARIUS</b> (Leo 9th house - travel, foreign, higher education, legal issues, politics, humanitarian/social causes, the big picture) the trine with Uranus connects your desire for change with your <i>actions. </i>With a retrograde Mercury you will want to take a second look or have second thoughts or maybe you get a second chance at something going on with those 9th house themes. <b>Mercury's delays and Mars fiery passions are intended to focus you on your most HEARTFELT path forward. </b>Events connect to the August 21st Full Moon Solar Eclipse.<br /><br /><b>CAPRICORN</b> (Leo 8th house - other people's values and resources - spouse's income, taxes, loans, debts, inheritance, intimacy, finances, sex, reproduction) the trine with Uranus connects your desire for change with your <i>actions. </i>With a retrograde Mercury you will want to take a second look or have second thoughts or maybe you get a second chance at something going on with those 8th house themes. <b>Mercury's delays and Mars fiery passions are intended to focus you on your most HEARTFELT path forward. </b>Events connect to the August 21st Full Moon Solar Eclipse.<br /><b><br /></b> <b>AQUARIUS</b> (Leo 7th house - partnership) the trine with Uranus connects your desire for change with your <i>actions. </i>With a retrograde Mercury you will want to take a second look or have second thoughts or maybe you get a second chance at something going on with those 7th house themes. <b>Mercury's delays and Mars fiery passions are intended to focus you on your most HEARTFELT path forward. </b>Events connect to the August 21st Full Moon Solar Eclipse.<br /><br /><b>PISCES</b> (Leo 6th house - work, health, day-to-day activities, pets) the trine with Uranus connects your desire for change with your <i>actions. </i>With a retrograde Mercury you will want to take a second look or have second thoughts or maybe you get a second chance at something going on with those 6th house themes. <b>Mercury's delays and Mars fiery passions are intended to focus you on your most HEARTFELT path forward. </b>Events connect to the August 21st Full Moon Solar Eclipse.<br /><br />Tomorrow, Mars meets Mercury. Passionate words could really move us forward. This is also the rip-roaring fight, have an accident energy - so use caution. Mercury and Mars will be close enough for the next couple weeks to feel this one.<br /><br />I will post next week's forecast on Monday morning and we'll look at Mercury's station and that Pisces Full Moon. The eclipse energy isn't something that will be 'going away' anytime soon. It's a <i>process. </i>It will take us through next February's Eclipse at 27 degrees Aquarius.<br /><br />Remember we have the North Node in Leo. <i>We</i> are creating our path forward. In whatever areas we have taken a backseat we are being pushed behind the wheel. We might drive the car right off the cliff that first spin around the block (<i>my advice is to stick to parking lots for a while longer</i>), but who knows, maybe that free fall is where we finally find our voice.<br /><br />xo allCatherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-55036773322712110862017-09-01T08:48:00.002-04:002017-09-01T08:56:14.232-04:00Mars inconjunct Chiron and trine Uranus | yes, it might hurt ... no, that isn't going to stop us<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gKbilv3dBKM/WalVLlel9XI/AAAAAAAAOcw/_KaCbZTmjaghRGTel0OuwtVtdoA5vWtbgCLcBGAs/s1600/summer_breeze_by_thenightshedied.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gKbilv3dBKM/WalVLlel9XI/AAAAAAAAOcw/_KaCbZTmjaghRGTel0OuwtVtdoA5vWtbgCLcBGAs/s640/summer_breeze_by_thenightshedied.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://thenightshedied.deviantart.com/art/Summer-breeze-66151813">Summer breeze by TheNightSheDied</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />I was going to jump back into the weekend series, but we have a lot going on today so let's stay where we are for a little while longer.<br /><br />First, let's talk Moon - this stuff is fleeting but powerful.<br /><br />The Moon is in stable and ambitious Capricorn. As it moves through Capricorn today, the Moon will conjunct Pluto giving us stamina and the ability to focus. On the downside (<i>fly meet ointment</i>) it could excavate intense energies that are not so great for harmony with others.<br /><br />If we need to end an emotional attachment though (<i>my personal plan is the solid defeat of SUGAR</i>) and take our own power back - this is good energy to do<i> that.</i> <br /><br />Tonight the Moon will square Jupiter. This could bring up relationship issues or tension between work/goals and partners/other people. Our emotions could be over-the-top and out of proportion to what is going on. This might lead us off course. Things can feel better than they actually are, too. Our standards could get <i>lowered</i>. <br /><br />We also have Mars (<i>action, initiative, boldness, anger</i>) inconjunct Chiron. Inconjuncts can't be solved. W<b>ith Chiron involved someone is going to get hurt.</b><br /><br />Maybe our confident action (<i>Mars in Leo</i>) rubs someone else the wrong way (<i>Chiron in Pisces</i>). Or maybe we are the one who gets hurt. We can't win here, but I'm not really sure we will be able to avoid whatever this scenario kicks up (<i>or if we want to</i>), especially if we have planets or points around 27 degrees Leo or Pisces.<br /><br /><b>This doesn't mean we give up.</b> <br /><br />If we want/need to step up now (<i>Leo North Node/Mars</i>) and are worried about making a mistake or worried about what other people will think, we also have a trine (<i>brakes off</i>) from Mars to innovative Uranus (<i>in independent Aries</i>). Action creates freedom. Self-expression is freeing.<br /><br />Bold, brave actions may lead to some difficult moments with/for other people (and for ourselves!) and we surely don't need to toss salt in the wounds, but we don't need to stop in our tracks to avoid any chance of injury or hurt feelings either. And, of course, it could be someone else's bold action that hurts us. <br /><br />Either way, <i>we</i> keep moving forward.<br /><br />Remember, Mercury is still retrograde and we have him (<i>news, information, communication, siblings, transportation</i>) meeting up with Mars this weekend and Mars hitting the Eclipse degree. I will post part II about that tonight or tomorrow morning.<br /><br /><b>This is <i>not</i> the best time for big changes because we can't see far enough ahead. </b>Let some stuff unwind itself first. Let's see where the cards have fallen after Mercury stations direct next week.<br /><br />In the meantime we can keep moving forward toward what our heart wants. Don't stop. Now is the time for planning and revising. The eclipse has reset everything, but we are not fully operational quite yet. Let's be gentle with ourselves and others.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/brenebrown/videos/1795556230459478/">Also, Houston needs underwear</a>. <br /><br />xo allCatherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-70696305169220101652017-08-31T07:42:00.001-04:002017-09-08T12:40:04.905-04:00Mercury backs into Leo and approaches Mars | RED ALERT for the next few days ... part l<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0zExIQRDEU4/Waf0APVXFHI/AAAAAAAAOcg/Dm7gGI6GbO0R_OICK5q6TN3pIT9yHaOKgCLcBGAs/s1600/haaam_by_thenightshedied.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="600" height="598" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0zExIQRDEU4/Waf0APVXFHI/AAAAAAAAOcg/Dm7gGI6GbO0R_OICK5q6TN3pIT9yHaOKgCLcBGAs/s640/haaam_by_thenightshedied.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://worldsofsmoke.deviantart.com/art/haaam-74186229">haaam by TheNightSheDied</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Now, a red alert isn't necessarily a bad thing. Think about those red light specials the department stores used to have when people actually shopped there. They were designed to get us to look over <i>here</i>. There is something over <i>here</i> we need to be paying attention to. Red lights (<i>and alerts</i>) are <i>attention</i> grabbers.<br /><br />Whenever an event/situation/person is grabbing our attention we will react or respond. Now, many of us, have been training ourselves to <i>respond</i> to situations rather than react to them. To slow down, take a breath, think about what the most intelligent, compassionate response would be and most of the time this is exactly what we should do.<br /><br />Sometimes we just need to react though. If we find ourselves in one of those situations hopefully we can turn the wheel <i>into</i> the slide and not screw things up even more by turning away. But we just don't know until we are in it what we are going to do.<br /><br /><b>And I once, with my car sliding on ice, instinctively turned my wheel away from the slide - exactly what they say not to do. I spun in a few complete circles and came to rest, without a scratch, precisely between two metal guideposts. </b><br /><b></b><br /><i>(Of course, this was years ago and just yesterday I was pushing Sully on the swing and Olive walked right in front of Sully's legs and almost got clobbered. My reaction was very slow, sloth-like actually and I pride myself on my good reflexes. I need more sleep. And to stop watching sloths on the internet. I'm seriou</i><i>s.</i>)<br /><br />Anyway, <b>this post is your red alert.</b> Let's look at the astrology.<br /><br /><b>Today</b> we have a retrograde Mercury backing from Virgo into Leo.<br /><br />His journey through Virgo had us picking over the details of something; making revisions, dealing with criticism, determining if this thing is even <i>possible. </i><br /><br />Now we are back into the Sun's territory (<i>Sun rules Leo</i>). This could have us re-thinking what our heart (<i>Leo</i>) wants. Does something we thought we wanted still making us happy? Do we still want to do this? This could be about a creative project, romance, child, something recreational or involve the theme of our Leo natal house. With the retrograde tied so tightly into the Eclipse all of this has a much bigger importance than we can see from our current vantage point.<br /><br />Saturn (<i>in Sagittarius</i>) is squaring Vesta and inconjunct Ceres. This could be about home/family issues or legal/educational/foreign issues - there is something happening here where we are being forced to take on greater responsibility, exercise more patience, shoulder a greater burden, etc. The inconjunct tells me there may be no way out of it. Devotion, service, nurturing and security will feature in our smoothest path forward.<br /><br />In a few months Saturn will come home to Capricorn. It will be best to find a way to take on any increased responsibility with a welcoming heart because following our heart is what is moving all of us forward. Know that things falling apart now are setting us up to be in the right place at the right time <i>later </i>- and by this I am talking about the space we are most <i>needed</i>.<br /><br />I am not advising we take on more than we have to take on. We are not victims or martyrs here. We are not here to carry other people's burdens. <b>That said, there might be a responsibility here that cannot be shrugged off. And we can't see the whole picture. No point kicking and tossing a tantrum when we can just get on with it.&nbsp;</b><br /><br />Hurricane Harvey isn't just happening in Houston. And this isn't to minimize what is happening in Houston! In some way the energy represented by this Hurricane (<i>forced loss, forced responsibility, dealing with something we don't want to deal with, under water, accepting nature, accepting authority, being homeless, loss of security, loss of solid ground beneath our feet, being all wet, etc</i>) which is the physical manifestation of the Eclipse - the largest storm in the United States in 60 years in our 4th largest city, the ramifications of which can't be remotely seen yet - is playing out in everyone's lives. Our energy is all over the place right now.<br /><br />OK, back to the <b>RED ALERT.&nbsp;</b><br /><br />As we come into the weekend we have Mercury beginning to conjunct Mars (<i>exact on Sunday</i>) AND Mars hitting the Eclipse degree of 28 Leo. And this is all (<i>once again</i>) trining (<i>brakes off</i>) a rebellious, reactionary, "anything-can-happen" Uranus. And then on Tuesday Mercury will station direct at that same 28 degrees! You can't make this up. WTH, people. <br /><br />We've seen all kinds of previous madness during recent Mercury retrogrades and now we have Mars - anger, initiative, passion, war - thrown into the mix at the exact degree the Solar Eclipse previously set up as an activation point.<br /><br />We'll talk more about ways this can all play out tomorrow, but as we approach this energy - it will be important to keep a cool head since Mercury rules our thinking and Mars is a hot-head.<br /><br />Know that angry (<i>Mars</i>) words (<i>Mercury</i>) or unexpected (Uranus) information (<i>Mercury</i>) that makes us mad (<i>Mars</i>) or requires action (<i>Mars</i>) will have consequences far beyond whatever situation we are dealing with because Eclipse energy is in the mix, too!<br /><br />We'll talk about all of this tomorrow, but in case your personal RED ALERT allows you to respond and not react (<i>please drive safely starting right now</i>) - it will be good to be prepared, so you can choose the most intelligent and compassionate response. The words <i>we</i> use can wound other people mightily now, too - they can hit someone like a hurricane. Keep that in mind.&nbsp; <br /><br />xo allCatherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-82073356087639983662017-08-27T15:26:00.000-04:002017-08-27T21:26:36.126-04:00Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of August 27th - the eclipse PUSHES back, renewed energy for something from the past, hard work pays off<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8TsYPnqa2UE/WaMRF2YQL5I/AAAAAAAAOcM/xUbGbM0TXXQzqtlmhhjgtNyEMT-Tv6PxwCLcBGAs/s1600/colourful_and_fragile_like_a_peacock_feather_by_wandererinwonderland-d51e66y.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="745" data-original-width="900" height="528" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8TsYPnqa2UE/WaMRF2YQL5I/AAAAAAAAOcM/xUbGbM0TXXQzqtlmhhjgtNyEMT-Tv6PxwCLcBGAs/s640/colourful_and_fragile_like_a_peacock_feather_by_wandererinwonderland-d51e66y.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://evivalarte.deviantart.com/art/Colourful-and-fragile-like-a-peacock-feather-304671706">colourful and fragile like a peacock feather by wanderer in wonderland</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />As the Solar Eclipse in Leo energy continues to play out - <i>this week and next</i> are again times when direction changing events/information can seem to come out of nowhere.<br /><br />This week it is all about Mars. He is hitting the North Node and then meeting up with unpredictable Uranus - our physical body, initiative, passion, action, courage, maybe anger, a fight, an argument, a push. Then next week it is all about Mercury. He is meeting up with Mars and stationing direct at the eclipse degree - our mind, communications, ideas, information, conversations, decisions.<br /><br />After September 5th - the decision is made, the writing is on the wall. Something has been re-invented or put to bed. <br /><br />On <b>SUNDAY,</b> Mars meets up with the North Node of our collective way forward. This is part of our eclipse story. Something, and this is Mars so we could be talking about an - action, initiative, anger, passion, courage, push, fight, argument, contest - forces our <b>step in the right direction.&nbsp;</b><br /><br />Jupiter (<i>luck, expansion</i>) sextiles (<i>opportunity</i>) Saturn (<i>time, responsibility, work, authority</i>). Yes, the harder we work, the luckier we get. <br /><br /><b>Earlier work can pay off now with a LUCKY break.</b> Work started now can pay off later. Hard work makes us lucky. Patience pays off. Long lasting and positive results can come from opportunities and responsibilities taken on now. This energy is exact now but will be in play for a while.<br /><br />With Saturn in Sagittarius and answering to Jupiter - this is a double dose of Sagittarius positivity to resolve all that we need to resolve before Saturn moves into Capricorn at the end of December. With Jupiter in Libra - lucky breaks can also come through women and partnerships. Remember the rewards are Saturnian coming through hard work and over time BUT they are long-lasting.<b> </b><br /><br />On <b>MONDAY</b>, the Moon is void until 3:48PM EDT. It's not a good time to start anything new or launch something that you want something to come of. Feel free to sleep in. Stick to routine matters. The Moon is in Scorpio which is good energy for solitary research and problem solving. Shortly after the Moon moves into Sagittarius in the late afternoon she will square Mercury (<i>retrograde in Virgo</i>) - stress and tension come from needing to make the big picture and the fine details work together.<br /><br />This is also a good time to put our foot in our mouth.<br /><br />Hopefully the Moon's move late Monday from water into fire will aid the first eclipse victims in the Texas floodwaters. <br /><br />On <b>TUESDAY</b>, the Moon is in Sagittarius. We are thinking BIG.<br /><br />We have the first quarter Moon of the month with the Moon (<i>in Sagittarius</i>) squaring the Sun (<i>in Virgo</i>). This is similar to last night's energy - tension around the big picture and the fine details working together.<br /><br />Maybe we need to finish one thing (<i>be satisfied with it</i>) before starting something else?<br /><br />The Sun is in Virgo so planning, taking care of the details, using our resources wisely is the best use of our energy now. <br /><br />By late afternoon that big thinking Sagittarius Moon will be squaring dreamy Neptune (<i>strong in Pisces</i>), so knowing where we start and another person/situation's energy leaves off will be tricky. People will be emotional and easily deceived. It will be hard to know what is real and what is fake. The rose colored glasses are on. Watch for the activation of addictive behaviors. The Sun is in earthy Virgo - stay grounded, do the Virgo practical thing.<br /><br />On <b>WEDNESDAY</b>, the Moon's contacts with Saturn and Jupiter have us all over the place. We could go from down to up in a New York minute. Then the Moon (<i>still in Sagittarius</i>) moves on to trine first Mars and then Uranus (<i>Grand Fire Trine</i>). Ambitious, inspirational - good socializing/fire starting energy as long as we let go of any preconceived notions about how this night is going to end up! This could bring us Luck with a capital L especially when it comes to <b>being in the right place at the right time.</b> Be out and about. Take action.<br /><br />On <b>THURSDAY</b>, the Moon enters Capricorn. We slow down. We get serious. We get to work. We could be dealing with serious people/authority, serious situations or just knuckling down. Our survival instinct kicks in. <br /><br />Mercury (<i>moving backward now</i>) travels from Virgo back into Leo. He'll be covering our old Leo ground through September 5th and be back in Virgo on September 11th. This is a do-over with our universal Leo themes - creative projects, romance, children, fun, recreation - or our personal Leo house theme. Where is late Leo in your natal chart? Yes, this is eclipse stuff.<br /><br />Note the dates. Also add to your calendar a heads up for September 2nd and 3rd. This is all related to last week's Solar Eclipse. The new is emerging now AND it's emerging through the old. <br /><br />On <b>FRIDAY</b>, the Moon (<i>in Capricorn</i>) conjuncts Pluto. This is good energy for our goals and ambitions. Rewards for hard work. We could be dealing with authority figures and stepping into our responsibility. Stuff that has been hidden could surface now to be dealt with.<br /><br />On <b>SATURDAY</b>, Mars is trining (<i>brakes off</i>) Uranus. Try something new and take some new action. This energy will give us a strong need for independence. New opportunities come through taking new risks. Great energy to get new projects off the ground. This could bring something unexpected into our eclipse story and a renewed energy/passion for SOMETHING FROM THE PAST.<br /><br />Remember I write about dates when aspects are exact. The aspects (<i>not so much the Moon which just moves too fast</i>) can often be experienced days before or after. Keep this in mind. Also the eclipse stuff is still playing out and eclipse events often hit one week or month before or after the dates here and then unwind over several months. <br /><br />xo all<br /><br />Trump's chart is hit rather bigly at the end of this week and into the weekend (<i>exact on Saturday</i>), part of his Mars eclipse story, so we will see what happens then - could also be the stuff that hit the end of this past week. Catherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-64551291602830384562017-08-25T08:37:00.001-04:002017-08-25T08:37:43.190-04:00Saturn Stations Direct | forward motion toward our long term goals<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c9bFOK8ZzQY/WaAYGjWiD9I/AAAAAAAAOb4/2fzjw0-CLJgcUn63r_f89qpijpo2O-K-QCLcBGAs/s1600/959f1163c1cf111bfc1ea8ed0ddf5a62-d35uq65.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="934" height="410" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c9bFOK8ZzQY/WaAYGjWiD9I/AAAAAAAAOb4/2fzjw0-CLJgcUn63r_f89qpijpo2O-K-QCLcBGAs/s640/959f1163c1cf111bfc1ea8ed0ddf5a62-d35uq65.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://evivalarte.deviantart.com/art/time-out-191230205">time out by evivalarte</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After five months retrograde, Saturn - the planet of time, goals, commitment, responsibility - stations to move direct. Check 21 degrees Sagittarius in your natal chart to see the house (<i>area of life</i>) where he has been re-tracing his steps.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It could have felt, during this time, that we were getting further away from our goals or where we want to be in this area of our life. Maybe obligations weighed heavily. Walls and limitations had to be faced. Corners we had previously cut were noted to be <i>missing</i>. The bills came due. Maybe we were re-evaluating, re-assessing, re-affirming our responsibilities and commitments. Maybe we learned to say, "no". Maybe we learned to say "yes" to something we had been <i>avoiding</i>.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Saturn <i>always</i> gives rewards, but they are Saturnian rewards - coming after we've put in the time and hard work to build something that<i> lasts. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Our long range goals that have been <i>stuck</i> can </span><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">start to move forward now.</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We have until right around the time of the winter solstice to finalize plans for our Sagittarian house before Saturn moves home to Capricorn. Sagittarius rules our big picture beliefs, what is foreign to us, foreign travel, higher education, religion, politics, the media, the Sagittarius house of our natal chart and the house that houses the planet Jupiter. Wrap that stuff up somehow - figure out what you want and set up a game plan. Get something<i> done. </i>Stabilize this stuff.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">If you have planets or points very late into Sagittarius - 28-29 degrees, Saturn will hit them the first week of December. He will go about stabilizing whatever is happening there, but it might feel better if we do it ourselves first. He is heading straight home to Capricorn now and we don't really want to be standing in the way of <i>that </i>(says the person with the 28 degree Venus in Sagittarius in her 2nd house).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Consider this a clean slate.</b> Mercury is still retrograde but this is a great time for planning and making small, stabilizing moves. In some ways we are right back where we were five months ago with our goals and commitments, <i>except </i>we are older and wiser now.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">If we have used this time wisely we should be clearer now. Maybe we've let go of a few things, maybe some things have been firmed up. Saturn doesn't rush, because Saturnian things (<i>the things that last</i>) are built over time. We don't have to rush either.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A heads up that after September 5th or 6th we will have two additional planets moving forward - Mercury and Pluto (<i>plus of course Saturn as of today</i>). This is as good as it is going to get this year for "full steam ahead" energy, wind at our back. We could probably postpone a week or so after these dates for things to calm down, but that will be it. We will need every minute of everyday to get where we need to be by the end of December - remember the solstice - winter is coming.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Use that Virgo Sun to do the cleaning, planning and legwork now - cross your t's and dot your i's - you don't have to know exactly what you are doing. Just clean up the mess. It will all pay off later. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">xo all</div>Catherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-68335375843029488952017-08-24T07:35:00.001-04:002017-08-24T07:52:33.306-04:00Eclipse Hangover and Venus Square Uranus | pattern disruption, course correcting<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WCNMtJkNh0k/WZ64gXlv7LI/AAAAAAAAObo/DYx18egZGHYi6tjG910Wtz2rCG42oeMZwCLcBGAs/s1600/mirror_by_kasiowata11-d4lxar8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="693" data-original-width="900" height="492" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WCNMtJkNh0k/WZ64gXlv7LI/AAAAAAAAObo/DYx18egZGHYi6tjG910Wtz2rCG42oeMZwCLcBGAs/s640/mirror_by_kasiowata11-d4lxar8.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://little-moonshine.deviantart.com/art/mirror-278690228">mirror by kasiowata11</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Monday's eclipse was a potent <b>pattern interrupter.</b><br /><br />It brings something to light or eclipses something <i>out of our way. </i>It closes off one path, one way forward, so we are nudged, pushed, dragged or drop kicked (<i>boot meet ass</i>) onto another path.<br /><br />With so much retrograde energy there is alot of looking backward here (<i>in the United States we are working through our collective energetic baggage regarding the Civil War and Nazism</i>) as old cycles need to be finished up. We don't want to/need to be carrying this sh*t anymore. This energy will play out over the next six months. <br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">The North Node in Leo assures me that we need to focus on the future and what we are <i>creating </i>rather than on the past and what we have <i>lost.&nbsp;</i></span><br /><br />I had my own Oprah 'aha moment' the morning after the eclipse. I'd stilled my mind in meditation, drawn myself, once again, into the present moment when it hit me that since I believed my past thoughts had set into motion my present reality, my consistent focus on the present moment (<i>pretty much a staple of New Age thinking, not that I consider myself New Agey, but it does impact me</i>), which is great for focus and clarity was at least partly (<i>and maybe significantly</i>) responsible for my endless loop of creating the same things over and over again. New characters, same story line. New actions, same results.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">So because what is, is a reflection of what was - focusing on what is has us focusing on the past, so we keep recreating our future as the past. Am I making sense?</span><br /><br />I need to do ALOT more thinking/feeling about what I want and the future I want to create - with an emphasis on the feeling that is symbolized by the thing I want. I always think I do this, but I don't do it anywhere near as often as I am focusing on the present moment<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>which is really the past in disguise!</i> <i>That tricky bastard.</i></span><br /><br />Our lives are never stagnant for long, our lives are always changing - how much of this change we are consciously participating in is up to us. I am pretty certain our unconsciousness will have its way with us IF we do not have a certain level of commitment to ourselves and are not in a vibratory state where we can handle the responsibility of captaining our own ship.<br /><br /><b>Are we unconsciously generating a life that mostly consists of everything we have gathered along the way that is not even ours?</b><br /><br />Anyway, this is just something to think about, how too much emphasis on 'being in the moment' or not enough emphasis on 'creating the future' could unconsciously set us up for a loop. I don't think we need to do less meditation, mindful walking, etc - I know this stuff is helpful. But I do think we need a daily practice of thoughtful creation (<i>thinking about and feeling what we want that at least equals, probably in both time and intensity, the present moment practice</i>). <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>I've been feeling hungover since the eclipse. I wrote the Sun into Virgo, clean the closet post, but keep opening my closet, inbox, etc and closing them again. Everything seems like quite a mess. Like I am being asked to clean up after Katrina.<br /><br />I've heard some people found the eclipse to be energizing. I've felt mostly drained with a few sporadic moments of motivation. Now that the Moon has gotten away from the Sun (<i>Moon into Libra today after traveling through Leo, the Eclipse and Virgo being blasted by solar energy - enough already Sun leave the poor Moon alone!</i>) it could be the cosmic coffee that wakes me up - I am hoping!<br /><br />Today could be tricky. We have Venus (<i>in Cancer</i>) squaring Uranus (<i>in Aries</i>) and trining Chiron (<i>in Pisces</i>). This is break-up, break-through, break <i>something </i>energy. And, yes, if we break something, the glass will be <i>sharp. </i><br /><br />Venus rules partnership, money, love, our self-esteem and our values. In Cancer, she is sensitive, moody and family/home oriented. She is squaring off with rebel/awakener Uranus in independent Aries. The trine to wounded healer Chiron means if something hurts here - the hurt is very old and very deep. And we'll know how old and how deep by how much aspirin or red wine we have consumed by the end of the night.<br /><br />This square could make relationship and/or financial issues unpredictable. Maybe a change we should have made a long time ago now closes in on us. Maybe we make some kind of impulsive move or break toward freedom that just leaves us more unstable. There could be an unpleasant surprise here. <b>It could feel like our safety/security is threatened. </b>Slow down. Take a deep breath. We can love <i>ourselves</i> through this thing. <br /><br />If we are the one feeling restless it doesn't mean we need to take drastic action - this close to the eclipses and with both Mars and Mercury set to hit the eclipse degrees within the next two weeks - maybe small moves would be best. Mercury is retrograde, along with four other planets including Saturn set to station direct TOMORROW. Let's not make any moves that set our course in cement, if we were a GPS we would still be <i>course correcting.</i><br /><br />xo allCatherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3644717516426101893.post-24640598097522592722017-08-22T06:56:00.000-04:002017-08-22T07:18:43.521-04:00Sun into Virgo | clean the closet<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CWTpookdedI/WZwMkmU0olI/AAAAAAAAObU/FdC5DrQNOqsD3M9FA7sQpWtUYJVI069jgCLcBGAs/s1600/still_holding_myself_by_little_moonshine-d4hvbes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CWTpookdedI/WZwMkmU0olI/AAAAAAAAObU/FdC5DrQNOqsD3M9FA7sQpWtUYJVI069jgCLcBGAs/s640/still_holding_myself_by_little_moonshine-d4hvbes.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://little-moonshine.deviantart.com/art/Still-holding-myself-271879300">Still holding myself by little-moonshine</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The astrology wheel is the hero's journey of self discovery. When the sun moves into Virgo today, it is the hero's (<i>our</i>) first encounter with <i>service</i>.<br /><br />We are learning when to help and when helping isn't really helping. Virgo is the modest healer with the critical eye that <i>takes care of the details</i>. Meaningful work and competence are key now.<br /><br /><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-size: large;">Virgo knows we are not here to do the work we love - we are here to <i>love the work we do</i>. There is a difference. This is the difference that changes the world. This is the difference that changes <i>us</i>. </span></span><br /><br />Every sign has something to learn from the sign that follows it.<br /><br />Leo learns from Virgo (<i>and we all have Leo and Virgo in our charts somewhere - its placement will affect how this activates in your own journey</i>) - to <b>do the work</b>. Virgo teaches Leo to let go of the need for the spotlight and recognition and to just <b><i>focus on the work</i>. </b><br /><br />The king gets humbled (<i>and we might, too, now!</i>). <br /><br />It is no coincidence that Virgo comes in autumn; the time of the harvest - the time we separate the wheat from the chaff.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Sun in Virgo needs to do <i>good</i> work. In order to do this, we need to figure out what isn't working. We need to be able to see the flaws and problems. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">When Mercury meets up with the Sun at the end of the week (<i>and kicks off a new Mercury cycle</i>) an idea, conversation, information, news, detail will come to our attention that tells us what we need to know to move forward (<i>even though we are still looking backward</i>). With the Sun's big old light we won't have to worry about missing it. It won't be a subtle thing. It will be obvious. It could be - the fly in our ointment, the flaw in our plans, the new idea, the crucial detail - that tells us what we need to know now.</span><br /><br />Coming so close to Venus's move into heart centered Leo at the end of week (<i>and with Venus now answering to Leo's ruler the Sun</i>) we could use whatever comes to light now to determine if what we want (<i>Venus</i>) is at all practical or even actually possible now or it could provide us with the info we need to get it/make it happen. <br /><br />Virgo's shadow is perfection. Perfection is a ferocious teacher and many people with strong Virgo have the battle scars to prove it. There must be self acceptance here&nbsp; <b></b><b>If a Virgo is unhappy with what she sees in the mirror, she will be unhappy with what she sees everywhere else. </b><br /><br />Self-esteem is the key to avoiding self-destruction. Despite Virgo's need for careful planning (<i>a well planned job is half done is certainly one of her mantras</i>) she must learn to live in the moment and to live there with compassion (<i>for herself and everyone else</i>).<br /><br />This is everyone's lesson now. We are all burning Virgo fuel for the next 30 days. Until September 5th, Mercury, the ruler of Virgo, is retrograde. We are looking backward. We are revising, redoing, renovating, rethinking, etc.<br /><br />If major decisions or major moves can be put off until <i>after</i> this date, since we won't have all the facts and all our ducks beginning to line up until then - put it off. If it can't be put off, then make the decision, etc knowing things will work out a little differently than you think they will and there are still some tweaks and details that will need to be adjusted.<br /><br />It's a good time to focus on our health - eat better, move our bodies more - Virgo rules the 6th house of health and work and there are reasons these two things go together<br /><br />So let's get to work (<i>can't you feel that "back-to-school, sharpen your pencils" energy even if no one in your life is heading back to school?</i>). Let's get organized. Let's make our bed and sweep the floor. Any space in our life where we get to decide what stays and what goes is a good space to be working in now. Think closets and inboxes.<br /><br />Evaluate what is and what isn't working - what is worth doing/trying and what isn't. The North Node is still in fiery Leo, but Virgo energy is<i> practical. </i><b>It is time to deal with all the little background noise that makes it impossible to hear what our heart is saying to us.</b><br /><br />xo allCatherine Ivinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642469475264570967noreply@blogger.com0